Soldiers of the Republic
by BIG Z1776
Summary: The Republic has lived and prospered upon several things, the bravery and skill of the Jedi Order, and the blood and loyalty of its soldiers. Before the Clones were those who had stepped forward to fight for their Republic, and the Clone Wars was no exception despite the name. The volunteers of the Republic did their part. This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Location: Kuati Defense Force Headquarters, Kuat

"The galaxy is at war," was the start of the speech from one of the senior Kuati officers in the large meeting room where dozens of Generals and Admirals from numerous planets sat at a long black table, "The Chancellor has created a Grand Army of the Republic, but we've been left out of it."

There were murmurs from the middle-aged, and some even older, officers at the table. This didn't sit well with them, even after hearing it once more out of dozens of times. For many of these men warfare and the defense of their homes and the Republic as a whole was their duty, to some it was an ancestral obligation going back generations. To some such as the elite Knights of Anaxes, the finest warriors of the Core Worlds, their sworn oath was the defense of the Republic. To others such as the Kuati Defense Fleet they were the guardians of the Core Worlds, their mighty warships had stood guard over the vast wealth of the inner ring of city worlds and ancient member states of the Republic, guarding it and the hyperspace lines beyond from the threat of piracy.

There were more worlds represented here as well, Coruscant, Carida, Eriadu, Bestine, Corellia, and many others. The same planets that formed the bulk of the military in the days of the Old Republic were present. They were ready to stand to the challenge of defending the Republic once more, but something had prevented that. A new force that was slated to defend the Republic, the army of Clones from Kamino. Only a week into the war, and the Jedi were already in command of vast armies of Clone Troopers, and not a care was given for the long dormant volunteer forces of the local defense forces and militias, the only military the Republic had before the war.

"We all know why we're here," came another old voice from the commanding officer of Anaxes' military, General Sutre. He was an old gray haired man in white and red armor, shiny and clean, a red cape with a handful of gold lanyards across his chest and left shoulder with a broadsword vibroblade in a scabbard on his hip. He stood from his seat and spoke loudly and with a great deal of anger, "We've chosen to stand and fight! The war we have long awaited has begun, and we've been told to stay out of it!"

"Indeed we have, but we are to do?" the leader of Coruscant's forces stated honestly, "We have no unified force, no logistics, no command structure, nothing that we can seriously bring to the table as a single force."

"That is the strength of the droids and the clones I'm afraid, they've been built for this war," Kuat's commander, a member of the Kuat family, Admiral Yula Kuat, said sourly, "We haven't done that. We should have seen this coming."

Murmurs of sour agreement around the table sounded out once more. But one man in a gray KDF uniform rose from his seat, his name was Admiral Cynan Drexel, the most experienced and respected officer in the room. He still had a head of thick black hair with some gray started turn it into the darkest of grays in the sideburns and front. His dress uniform was coated in ribbons and badges from his younger days qualifying for Starfighters and his many acts of heroism in the line of duty that earned the respect he enjoyed. His face was showing signs of age, gaining some wrinkles and slight blemishes, but when he stood people listened.

"We can all agree on one thing here, we're not ready for war. Individually we can hold our own here in the Core. But the Separatists won't attack the Core, not with Kuat's dreadnoughts on guard along with the might of the planetary defenses of each major planet. This war will be waged where we can't fight it, from the Inner Rim to the Outer Rim," he began with grim honesty, "In my time teaching at the academy I had time, as many of you who have taught know, to think of scenarios that may or may not happen. This is one of the ones I created, and planned for. Admiral," he asked, tossing a data card to be plugged into the holo-projector that sent small holograms of the full file to each seat.

"What are we looking at Admiral Drexel?" General Sutre asked as he pulled up the file.

"Scenario OR-6359, a full-scale in the Outer Rim requiring the full unification of the militaries of the Republic. Granted, it's old and rather general but the parallels to our current situation are accurate."

"Admiral," Corellia's CO said with absolute shock in his voice, "What you're asking for in this plan is nothing short of creating an entire military. This is directly in contrast to the treaty that disbanded the Republic Armed Forces thousands of years ago."

"Indeed it is," Drexel said without pause, "But the situation has changed."

"Even if we could, I don't know if our political leadership would be alright with such a force being created from the units of our defense forces, after all, much of the Core's defense is based upon deterrence."

"There are sacrifices that will need to be made of course, but we have another untapped base of recruitment, beyond the Core, the militias and patriots beyond our normal responsibilities. We are not the only ones willing to fight for the Republic, those young idealists may be untrained, undisciplined, hell even uncivilized, but the Outer Rim is as ripe a place as any to find the raw material to create soldiers," General Sutre said calmly, figuring out a part of Drexel's idea.

"It's just a matter of creating the foundation to build these raw recruits into Republic Troopers. We'll need bases to train, drill instructors to mold them into soldiers, weapons, equipment, vehicles, and ships for them to fight with, NCO's and officers to lead them in battle, and we need it all as quickly as we can," Drexel laid out as plainly as he could.

There was a moment of silence as the others considered his words until Admiral Kuat leaned forward, "KDY still has a handful of slips we're keeping open for our own defense forces. It shouldn't be too hard to sneak in a few dozen Star Destroyers and Assault Ships."

"Carida's got the finest training grounds in the Core, we can have bases fully operational within a few days," Carida's CO added as the parts started coming together.

"Anaxes has its share of bases and industrial facilities, we can put those to use and make some real armor," General Sutre said proudly, banging on his chest piece.

"Rothana won't sell us any of their vehicles," someone else said, "But we've got contracts with Yultrane-Trakkata, should be a simple matter to up the quantity."

"Incom and CEC got passed over in their bid for starfighters and frigates as well," Corellia's CO also piped up, confidence and a plan and a force starting to fill the room.

Soon the idea of an army began fleshing out into a plan, a plan that could be executed, and executed quickly, as time was a precious commodity. The details such as specific items were not discussed, but a list of companies from which this new force would be supplied and equipped was listed out rather quickly. And once that was done another thing was needed.

"We also have the matter of who will be the overall commanding officer," General Sutre brought up.

"I agree, an overall commander will be needed."

Mumbles of agreement came up as the first instincts of the men present wanted to put forward someone from their own planets. But that instinct was overruled by military necessity.

"I would like to put forward Admiral Drexel for overall commander," Corellia's CO offered up, much to everyone's surprise. Corellia and Kuat historically had been rivals, if only professionally, so the endorsement of a Kuati by a Corellian was a surprise, "This is his plan, he knows it like the back of his hand. And he is the most experienced and respected officer in the Core. I think we can all agree on that."

"I agree," General Sutre said, "Admiral Drexel is my vote as well. All in favor?"

A vast majority of hands were raised in agreement.

"Very well, I accept the position. And the name of this…new force?"

"I think the Republic Volunteer Corps is as good a name as any," Admiral Kuat offered, "After all, it is what it is."

The other men and women agreed, the Republic Volunteer Corps was now official. As the group broke for recess many of the officers came up and shook Admiral Drexel's hand. Once that was done, and Drexel himself walked out, he was greeted by Admiral Kuat, an old subordinate and someone he'd mentored.

"Admiral Drexel," she said with calm respect, "Walk with me?"

The much younger flag officer was a distant Kuat, far from the highest in line for great power among the Kuat family, but she was still connected enough to politic her way into command of Kuat Sector Forces. And she'd done a good job thus far, nothing had happened that would preclude her from being classed as a poor officer, and Drexel knew his old protégé would do a fine job in her position.

"Of course ma'am," Drexel said as he fell into step with her.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised you took the job," she said once they were out of earshot.

"Referring to my retirement?"

"Of course, you'd been planning it for a while."

"Situation's changed," Drexel firmly but nonchalantly responded to that.

"Which is why I'm wanting to ask a favor of you," Admiral Kuat tentatively asked.

"And that is?"

"My son, Wain, he's just graduated from the academy. I'd appreciate it if you could put him on your staff. Knowing him he'll ask for a combat position."

"Concerned about him?"

"Of course, I'm his mother," she chuckled, "I always worry."

"I'll see what I can do," Drexel nodded, "But I'll need a favor in return."

"And that is?"

"I'd like my old flagship, the Basilisk," Drexel asked, making her snap her head to him in surprise.

"One of the dreadnoughts?!" Kuat snapped.

"It's the newest ship of the Mandator class, her crew's experienced, her engineers have a complete working expertise of her systems, and they know me, I trained them."

"That'll take some doing Drexel," she said with some discomfort, "Basilisk is the one of the Mandators is upgraded beyond the Ruusan limitations. The Admiralty won't like parting with her."

"Each of the seven dreadnoughts is under Kuat command. They don't have a say. Besides they have ships twice that size coming down the line."

"At least you're not asking for one of those," she sighed, "And what else? I know you want more."

"I taught you well," Drexel laughed, "I'll need Venators and Acclamators. We both know that Rothana won't sell us any of their equipment so I'd like the designers to modify the assault ships to accommodate some of the F-Line of Assault Dropships."

"Combat Bricks? Those things are rather expensive aren't they?"

"Can't take chances with the lives of my troops," he shrugged.

"Well, which ones?" Kuat asked, wanting specifics.

"The F6 infantry carrier and the F6V vehicle carrier. Both use the same parts, and our own ships have used the same storage collars on them as well as a proven safety and combat record."

"We've got plenty of those laying around in storage somewhere. That shouldn't be any issue whatsoever," she affirmed to him, and then something else came to mind, "Have you thought about uniforms? In case you didn't notice but none of us have the same basic uniform."

"I was thinking about that earlier, and something tells me our friends from Anaxes already have the right idea. Instead of looking to now, they're looking to the past."

"Anaxes?" Kuat questioned as she arched an eyebrow, "Oh boy, can't wait to see what they come up with."

6 Days Later

Training Camp Bravo-6, Carida

The shaking of the CR25 Troopship as it landed was the last sign that the fifty recruits aboard the ship had before there was a thud as it touched down. Aboard was a mishmash of recruits from across Taanab. There were city kids from the ports, farmers from the countryside, and everything in between.

Among them was Wyatt Lullian, an eighteen year old volunteer from Taanab. He'd been a ranch hand most of his life, using a slugthrower to fend off predators and thieves on a few occasions. But he'd experienced nothing close to combat before. However his immediate reaction was to volunteer for military service upon hearing of the outbreak of war. Unfortunately his first attempt had been an insult, he'd been told that he'd be placed in a support role in the navy as a cook.

After storming out he'd then heard of a new opportunity for volunteering in a new force being created for volunteer troops. He'd walked into the recruiting office, got medically evaluated, and signed up to serve in the Republic Volunteer Corps.

Now, he was about to start his first day of training after departing Taanab with fifty other Taanab natives and a few others from other worlds. He was standing up upon the order from the crew chief wearing a red, black, and yellow uniform with a red and yellow helmet and orange goggles. He thought it odd, having never seen such an outfit before. He was still wearing his civilian clothes, a worn leather jacket, white shirt, blue jeans, and boots.

He had a thin unshaven beard as well that he had been warned would be gone the moment he arrived for training, along with his hair. Although nothing could have prepared any of them for what they were going to encounter here upon arrival. The ship's bow ramp hissed as it began opening and the light of numerous flood lights flooded in, and so did the Drill Instructors.

"Get outta there meat! Move it! Move it!" the first armored man yelled fiercely as he entered, storming up the ramp as other white and red armored instructors stood at the bottom of the ramp and were awaiting them, also yelling loudly.

The young recruits shuffled out as quickly as possible, disoriented by their sudden confrontation. As they ran out, whoever was carrying a bag had it ripped away and were shoved forward into a grid of boot prints where they were forced into a formation. Around them they saw in the hot humid night that other CR20's were unloading their own cargoes of recruits. Everyone was yelling, the recruits were all disorientated, confused, and unsure of what to do aside from where they were supposed to go and do.

But quickly enough all of the troops were assembled into five company-sized formations in the area where two rows of ten ships had unloaded their cargoes. However, to get there, entire companies had been forced into pushup position at least a dozen times.

"Battalion! Left, face!" one of the officers yelled loudly.

The units turned accordingly, somewhat poorly, but they managed to get it right. And upon the orders to get moving forward they began marching. They all realized that they were on a landing platform that was in a basin, and that three other such basins were to their left, and as they walked up the ramp they saw that the other ships were beginning to lift off, moving into the air as other columns of several hundred recruits marched up and out. It was a rather poor attempt at marching in-step, and hardly a moment went by when the Drill Instructors weren't yelling for them to get in step.

Eventually the masses were marched to a large grass field surrounded by boxy buildings and covered by floodlights. There were floating cameras filming the occasion as a tall stand with a podium on it. Wyatt now saw just how many people were here, several thousand in fact. He recognized a handful of the people around him, but no one beyond whoever had been aboard the ship with him, and even then he only had one friend who he'd signed up with, Eva Quartin, the girl whose father owned a packing plant where he frequently had to drive livestock to slaughter. She was standing beside him at attention like him and everyone else.

None were wearing uniforms aside from the white and red armored instructors, who they now saw had helmets as well. These helmets had the look of a mix of a Mandalorian and Clone helmet. It had a black T-Visor, thicker than the Mandos or the Clone in the horizontal portion with the vertical portion having two small pieces of the black visor jutting out like a rectangle on either side until it came to a line shaped like a frown on someone's face, giving the wearer a grim appearance. Above the horizontal portion was a shallow brim that went out over the top of the visor and back down to protect from glare from the front and sides. This came back to connect with the helmet itself and the actual plate was colored the same red as a stripe running from the middle of the chin all the way up to the top of the head and back. This stripe ended at a black line running above the ears behind where the red brim ended.

The armor itself that these men wore was a very close match to the armor that the clones wore, but with a few slight differences in the shape of the shoulder pieces and the addition of two pads a foot long that draped from the belt on both hips with clips for secondary weapons or other equipment. There was also a much larger amount of paint and detail painted or molded in. Red stripes were on the edges and middle of the arm and leg plates. On the chest piece the borders of the armpits and bottom were red and a black, segmented, neck-guard draped down over the navel and around the collarbone to cover where the chest piece was connected to the back plate. The shoulders were cupped in a hook-shaped bowl shoulder pad and a full utility belt completed the package over a black undersuit. There were other such differences even among the troops, each had a Republic emblem on their right shoulder piece over the red stripe down the middle but each man had his own planet's image emblazoned on the left shoulder.

Some said Anaxes, some said Carida, a few even said Kuat or Coruscant. But Wyatt was relieved to know that these were not Clones training them, these were people, with lives, homes, and loved ones like him. They had something to fight for other than being bred for war. As they stood there they saw someone walk up to the podium wearing a double breasted black and red and yellow uniform and a red officers' cap with a disc on it. He didn't recognize him at all, and once more saw that the uniform was of an old design, looking like the ones used by the Republic a long, long time ago.

"Recruits, you have been gathered today because you are united in purpose," the man said aloud, his voice echoing thanks to the speakers to his left and right, "You have volunteered to fight for the Republic. If that is so, please raise your right hands."

The formations of recruits all did so, holding them up the same as he did, elbows at a right angle.

"Now repeat after me. I, state your name, do solemnly swear" he said, and was repeated word for word, aside from the names, "that I will show true faith to the Republic. I pledge to defend the Republic and its interests from all enemies who wish to destroy it, even it means my death. And that I will obey the orders of the supreme authority and those officers appointed over me."

With that he brought his hand down and placed both hands behind his back.

"Welcome to the army," Eva proudly said from next to him.

"Oh yeah," Wyatt grinned as he tried to keep quiet.

"Drill Instructors, the recruits are sworn to duty, training commences now."

With the announcement Wyatt and his comrades were ordered to fall out. Nearby were several buildings they were all forced to stand outside of as lines began being ordered inside. Wyatt waited at attention in dark of the humid night for his turn until an instructor ordered his unit inside. He was one of the first, and the first thing he did was pass through a scanner with his arms held out and then had a medical droid inject a set of steroids into his arm along with an ID tag into his neck. Moving to the next station he was sat down into a barber's chair and the automated clippers just went to town, buzzing off his whole head of hair and his beard. And once that was done he was jumped by an Instructor.

"Get up out of that chair! Get your ass in your uniform! Move!"

"Yes sir!" Wyatt responded, and then the DI went off.

"I am not a sir! I am a Non-Commissioned Officer! I, work for a living! You will refer to me as Drill Instructor!"

"Yes Drill Instructor!" Wyatt yelled in response.

With that he was ushered to a long table where he was ordered to grab a bag of equipment and uniforms. They were ordered to get into the mostly blue uniform with black boots. The uniform went on and then he was ushered into a barracks where he was pointed. Stowing the equipment he was given he now stood in the front of his bunk alongside Eva, who had stuck with him the whole time. The others, also stood side-by-side along the long barracks, amounting to a full platoon of forty-two people. They were missing their officer, but were about to meet him.

"Welcome to the Republic Volunteer Corps!" a voice bellowed out, and in walked a man in the same armor but his helmet was off, and he walked in amongst the unit, "You are hereby designated as the First Platoon of Echo Company, Third Battalion of the 25th Regiment of Volunteers in the 3rd Volunteer Legion. I am Lieutenant Yuno, your platoon leader, It is my job to keep you alive. But you will have to listen and obey the orders you are given. That starts now. Do you get me?"

"Yes sir!"

"Very well, get into your racks, get some sleep, because tomorrow we begin."

 **Well, that's the first chapter of my second attempt at this story. I've got a much better idea of what I'm planning on doing with this story as far character development, plot lines, etc. So let's see where this one goes shall we?**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Inspections and impressions from a Jedi, but which one?**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Location: Kuat Drive Yards, Kuat

The shipyards were busier than ever with the outbreak of war. Dozens of Republic warships were rolling out of the slipways and docks in several classes that the Republic's growing naval fleet needed. Even Kuat's moons had been retooled for war production. Included in the list of recipients besides the Grand Army of the Republic was the Republic Volunteer Corps.

A length of slipways was dedicated to building a fleet for this volunteer force that was growing with each day. And the first batch of warships was ready for this force to take them over. Twenty-one Venator Class Star Destroyers, twenty-eight Acclamator Class Assault Ships, and fourteen Arquitens Class Light Cruisers were in high stationary orbit around the planet. The formations of KDY-made ships surrounded a much, much larger flagship, a Mandator Class Dreadnought.

The smooth edged warship had the similar look to the Venators and Acclamators but it was much smoother in its curves. A city-scape like congregation of structures along to its ventral spine was towered over by the command tower, with two powerful shield generators on the two perpendicular ends. But there was an oddity to these war machines.

Each of them was totally painted in red. Each ship had the same paint scheme as the Judicial Forces did before the war. The fleet of RVC ships had become quite a curiosity among the predominantly gray clone operated warships which outnumbered them by quite a large margin. And this fleet was not yet fully assembled.

As the fleet orbited, their young freshly indoctrinated and graduated crews were arriving for their more advanced and practical training. They'd been relentlessly training in large simulators built on Kuat for six weeks. Instructors from Kuat Sector Forces, one of the finest in the galaxy, had drilled them hard, imparting the lessons of the past centuries. They were competent enough to use their ships but in battle they were untested.

So as they trained and settled in aboard their new ships, a large fleet arrived in the Kuat system. There were forty-nine ships in this fleet, and like their larger counterparts, were all painted red. This was the RVC's final piece of its space fleet. A force of forty-two CR90 Corellian Corvettes and seven Quasar-Fire Carrier-Cruisers had been built, trained, and departed from Corellia. They melded in with the formation of warships from Kuat, and settled into unit-sized formations with the light cruisers falling out of formation with their larger cousins and moving into formation amongst the carriers and corvettes.

Watching the rendezvous of RVC warships from afar was Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi, who stood at the bridge of his own flagship with his newly knighted former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker also paying attention to the large fleet before them.

"Boy, those fellas sure want to be noticed," Anakin said with some bemusement.

"Indeed, their choice of coloration for their fleet is rather…ostentatious," Obi Wan responded.

"I've heard they're using old Cold War armor designs," Captain Rex said as he and Commander Cody also walked up to their Jedi Generals.

"I'm familiar with some of their commanders. It's a psychological play on the Republic Armed Forces' history before the Ruusan Reformation," Obi Wan noted.

"A recruitment tactic then," Cody surmised.

"I don't know how much good it'll do," Rex laughed, "I've seen some of the material they're training, not that impressive."

"That was not the experience we had Jabiim," Anakin grumbled, remembering that particular blood bath vividly.

"And so do they," a new voice said, signaling the approach of Admiral Yularen, "I'm quite familiar with Admiral Drexel, the Volunteer Corps' overall commander. He's been watching and learning from the current course of the war. I spoke with him a few days ago, shared a drink at my old stomping grounds. He told me that Jabiim validated his theory that volunteer forces would have a part to play in this war."

"To what extent however?" Obi Wan asked, "Their forces number less than a million."

"Seven hundred thousand to be precise," Yularen clarified, "With thousands more joining, or so Drexel says."

"So he says," Anakin smirked, scanning the red ships, the large dreadnought in particular, "Well, at least they have a dreadnought to help them in battle. I'd imagine that they've got Kuat's own defense forces manning it."

"Undoubtedly," Obi Wan said as a sudden red flash zipped through from their left.

"What in the world?!" Anakin snapped, looking out at the red starfighter that had just flown in between the two bridges of their flagship.

"What was that?" Cody questioned.

"That, is an RVC starfighter," Yularen sighed.

As soon as he said that a large formation of several hundred such starfighters passed by, and they were able to get a good look at them. They had a single thruster on a slightly forward swept flying wing with laser cannons mounted on the wingtips. The cockpit was in the middle of the quite small fighters, and the Jedi didn't really recognize its design. And like the continuing trend among RVC ships, were painted red.

"Never seen anything like them before," Anakin said in admiration.

"Incom T-42 F-Wings," Yularen identified them, "I've seen them in the hands of a few racers."

"It's obvious at least one of their pilots flies theirs like one," Obi Wan sourly noted.

As they spoke another flight starfighters, this time a dull triangle shape with wingtip thrusters much like a Y-Wing with the same paintjob as the others. This was the second part of the RVC's starfighter force, the STL-L M-Wing, a branch-off of the Y-Wing with a smaller and leaner hull but retaining the same bombload and a more useful tail mounted twin laser turret.

"They like to use things that we don't use," Cody noted.

"We'll have to see if it serves them well," Obi Wan grumbled as he rubbed his chin.

Location: Training Camp Bravo-6, Carida

The base was a hive of activity by now. For six weeks the recruits had been run ragged with constant physical training consisting of miles and miles of running over set paths, rough terrain, in their cloth uniforms and their new white and red RVC armor with full gear. They'd built up their muscles with pushups, pull-ups, and everything in-between. Weapons training was also going as scheduled, and this was the favorite part for the RVC personnel.

And Private Wyatt Lullian was no exception. His A280 Blaster Rifle was quickly his favorite possession, and he'd gotten very proficient with it. His skills as a soldier had improved drastically, from barely being able to do anything in the heavy clunky gear and armor to being able to maneuver proficiently in combat training against the droid mock-ups that they faced several times a day out in the field. The same could be said for everyone being trained here, although many had head starts.

Wyatt had been rather ticked to learn that they were sharing their training base with Caridan units that had been together in an organized and well-equipped military and were trained in their new weapons, armor, and equipment right alongside them. Things got testy a few times during force-on-force combat drills when units ranging from four-man fireteams to whole companies faced off against one another with stun settings locked in. Normally the Caridans came out on top, but the Taanab greenhorns were starting to get the hang of it.

But the current moment was being spent in the main headquarters building, a first time for Wyatt and the others of his company. The tall half-globe structure had several hangars within the main building behind an outer shell that covered the building on the outside. It was in one of these hangars that he found himself standing at parade rest alongside his own company with another Caridan company and a few support detachments on both sides, forming a lane for whoever was supposed to come today.

"What do you think Wyatt?" Eva, his friend from back home asked expectantly.

"I say General and/or Admiral," Wyatt replied, "Scuttlebut says a group of senators is stopping for a parade but I haven't seen anything like that."

"I told you don't believe scuttlebut," Eva responded confidently, "I say…a Jedi's coming. Gotta be a Jedi."

"The Jedi?" one of the other privates next to them laughed, "They're too busy blasting droids with their clone buddies. They don't care about us."

"He's not wrong, the Jedi are a bit…thinned out to be inspecting us. We're fine, still training," Wyatt stated plainly.

"Not what I've heard," Eva said, "A few Jedi don't like the Clones, there's a few militias with Jedi leaders fighting the Seppies behind enemy lines. From what the reports the holonet's been putting out they're doing a hell of a job for what they've got."

"As opposed to us? They're just paperweights to what we've got," someone else sneered, "Why aren't already with us then?"

The others had been listening, but they hadn't said anything. And so had Lieutenant Yuno, who spoke up now.

"Because we're not ready," the Lieutenant said calmly over the comm, and scared everyone into silence.

The lieutenant was a big powerful man, a native of Alderaan, he was viewed by his platoon as somewhat of a hardass. But he was tough and skilled as his men and women found out, leading them in combat exercises with confidence and precision. It was with him that the platoon figured out their method of waging this war was going to be an entirely different one than what they had anticipated. They, like all the units of their kind, would ride into battle in T1-APC Combat Speeders, which had been delivered rather quickly to the RVC's training bases.

But these craft were not present here, just the men and women of the force who stood at rigid attention in rows as all of a sudden a deep whooping alarm went off. This was the signal that they'd been waiting for.

"Ten-hut!" Lieutenant Yuno ordered them all and stepped out in front of his unit in the middle of the platoon with the company commander standing in front of him with only his two peers spaced to his left and right. Company HQ was also to his left at the end of the line of Taanab troopers, and stood at rigid attention. Nearly a hundred and fifty men and women in total stood at attention opposite of another identical unit with support staff spaced to their left, further from the landing zone.

Then, something unexpected occurred, two rows ten of men and a few women strode forth from the double doors that led into the hangar. They each had similar armor to the ones that the troopers wore, but theirs was slimmer, shinier, and most striking of all had a flowing red cape with black fur up around the neck and shoulders. Their weapons was also a striking difference. Each was armed with a broadsword vibrosword made of Songsteel in black scabbards at their left side and a holster carrying an SE-14R Repeating Blaster Pistol on the trailing armor plate at their right hip.

"Anaxes Knights," Eva whispered on a private comm to Wyatt.

"Best soldiers in the Core," he said back to her, checking to be sure he held his weapon at the port position just right. Word around base was that the Anaxes Knights were sticklers for discipline and demanded nothing less than perfection.

The Knights halted to form a pair of columns parallel to one another spaced widely so that the guests would arrive and walk through their alley of swords and armor. As they stood there the hangar alarm stopped, and the lights of a Republic Eta Class Shuttle emerged and the ship slowly entered, and every single one of the RVC personnel fought the urge to turn their heads. As that happened a duo of officers walked in from the main entrance.

One wore a red uniform tunic with yellow stitching along the edge of the double breasted portion of the tunic. He had black leather gloves on his hands and a set of rank badges on his left chest and command capsules on both sides of his chest, signifying his seniority. He had black pants as well, with black leather boots. His hat was the same as the normal design, but was red. This was their overall commander, Admiral Cynan Drexel.

The other man was different, he wore the same armor as that of the others, with the same overall look. He had his helmet under his left arm, with a wide shoulder pauldron on his right shoulder and a kepi around his waist. They recognized him as their legion's commanding officer, a Caridan with a hard-nosed attitude that had seen quite a few crackdowns among their units after poor performances or failures of discipline.

They walked up and stood side-by-side, and the ramp opened. The metal softly touched down on the floor and the whole area saw an odd shape hobbling down the ramp. It was a Jedi Master, but not just any Jedi Master, it was the Jedi Master, Yoda, the oldest and wisest Jedi Master in the Jedi Order. This was just the Jedi that they had wanted to visit them, and the moment he stepped foot on the black hangar deck the entire hangar went to attention.

"Master Yoda," Admiral Drexel greeted him, stepping forward to salute him, "Welcome to Carida."

"Thank you Admiral, a pleasure it is."

"We are pleased that you could come here Master Yoda," the Admiral continued, "We have been looking forward to an inspection of our forces from a Jedi. The soldiers of the Republic are ready to fight for the Republic once more."

"Hope so I do," Yoda replied, "Needed every soldier is."

This was received well by those in ear shot of the declaration. Master Yoda had just endorsed them, or at least from the basic appearance of his statement it seemed to indicate that. But it was what was said next that gave a new impression to what Yoda was here for.

"But unsure the Council is, of if the Army you have created is ready for battle."

"Master Yoda," General Charon declared, "My legion is ready for anything that threatens the people of the Republic. If there are doubts about us, let us cast them aside."

"Come, see if you are ready, we will," Yoda giggled at his statement and proceeded forward.

"Master Yoda what would you have us do?" Admiral Drexel inquired, unsure of what the old Jedi was up to.

"Tests we have," Yoda declared without pause, "On their way the Clones are."

Drexel didn't quite know what to say to that, he'd expected his forces to cross train with the GAR at some point. But this soon? Six weeks into their training was hardly the point at which he'd hoped his men would have been ready to handle up on this. However, he could say for certain that his men were proceeding well, that might be able to hold their own against the clones, especially since their average rate of fire was quite over that of the clones and their armor was pretty much the same aside from aesthetic changes.

"Well Master Yoda," Admiral Drexel said proudly, "We accept your challenge."

 **Not a bad second chapter. I was originally going to be having a fight scene in this between training droids and the troopers, but I decided to have it against clones because…why not? As for which Clones…I think a case of Red vs Blue is in order, can you guess who the Clones in blue would be?**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Let the tests begin!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Location: Training Camp Bravo-6, Carida

The observation post was simple, a square repulsorlift platform with a control small podium with the controls and safety railing on the edges. It had room enough for a half dozen people, and offered no creature comforts. But it would do.

Admiral Drexel had taken the craft along with the diminutive Master Yoda with his aide, Lieutenant Kuat, piloting the craft to the landing pads near the training grounds on the outskirts of the base. The tall landing pad was empty aside from a pair of sentries. They stood there, waiting on the approach of their incoming guests. They heard them as soon as they saw them, three LAAT/i gunships, coming in for a landing.

Drexel noted the figures standing within the troop bay of the one that landed closest to them, counting fourteen altogether, including two men that were definitely not Clones. As they landed he saw who they were, Jedi Knights, Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, two of the finest Jedi Generals the Republic had. This meant that the Clones that had come with them were some of the elite frontline troopers, either the 501st Legion or the 212th Attack Battalion. The other two gunships each held one squad from each of the two units.

The two Jedi stepped off as soon as the gunship landed, and walked up to Master Yoda.

"Master Yoda," Obi Wan greeted, "Admiral Drexel, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you Master Jedi," Drexel replied, "It is an honor."

"We've seen the full scale of your fleet over Kuat before we were summoned to Carida Admiral," Skywalker piped up, "Most impressive. Your pilots also seem to have taken a keen interest in showing off their skills."

"I've heard," Drexel replied, "Our Corellian friends have been quite…effective with their training."

"Yes, well we're here to see the other half of your forces' abilities," Obi Wan said calmly, bringing the conversation back to their purpose in being here.

"Of course, if you'll step aboard General Kenobi, the 3rd Legion is begun to conduct their combat exercises."

The Jedi stepped aboard and Anakin looked back at Captain Rex, who along with Commander Cody, were readying their troopers.

"Rex, get your men ready, we'll be back in a little while."

"Yes sir," the blue-painted Clone Trooper responded with a salute.

The repulsorlift platform lifted off and they took off for the hills where the numerous vehicles were lined up and already advancing on a hill with several buildings being lit up by the red and blue practice rounds. They saw the white dots that each signified an infantryman moving forward, marching in columns behind their T1-APC's. The twin-gun turrets were laying down heavy fire with their troops holding fire. The T4-A Tanks were in front of them, firing their long twin laser cannons and coaxial repeating laser cannons at enemy positions. It was a powerful and methodical advance that was noted immediately.

They all noted the infantry moved in a choreographed manner, walking in two lines behind their vehicles. All of the troopers had their outside hands on the shoulders of the man in front of them with the lead man holding onto a handle on the tank in front of them to keep pace. Each had their blaster on their arm, aimed ahead of them with their legs moving in sync with each step.

"There seems to be a very measured tactic," Obi Wan noted, watching the attack from the platform.

"Very methodical," Anakin agreed, "Relying on their armor to prevent casualties and using heavy fire to keep the droids pinned down."

"Our whole ground force is built around mid-range and long range engagements using the superior range and penetrating power of the A280 and the rate of fire of the DLT-18 repeating blaster," Drexel said calmly, "Our armored forces are built for mobility and survivability. With the T1-APC, its shielding, with the T4-A, its armor. Both are tested designs in small-scale Outer Rim combat. We've added three additional designs using both vehicles."

"Simplifying maintenance and production," Obi Wan agreed.

"Indeed, we've used the T4 chassis as the base for two self-propelled artillery pieces. One uses the AV-7 cannon and the other uses a large container fitted with twelve proton torpedo tubes with the several ammunition types ranging from armor piercing to high explosive to fragmentation rounds," Drexel continued, "We used the T1 as a chassis for an anti-aircraft mount, using enlarged laser cannons with fast-tracking targeting scanners. Tests have indicated that one vehicle can shoot down a full squadron of droid starfighters while on the move."

"Impressive set of weapons Admiral," Anakin said as he watched the troopers below start sweeping through the town, clearing every building as a vehicle and its infantry came up to it, "But do your troops know how to use them?"

"That's why you're here isn't it?" Drexel smiled, "My troops are ready for another round."

"I'm sure the boys would love a challenge," Anakin stated confidently.

"Excellent, they're in for one."

"Cody, get your men aboard and take off. We'll give a landing site, set all weapons to their training settings," Obi Wan ordered

"Yes sir," came the commander's voice on the commlink.

"I'll send a platoon from this unit to the shoot box. That's where the troops face off against one another. Basically, it's a pit with several walls of various sizes and designs we change up every so often. Should be a perfectly neutral ground for this battle."

"They're on their way."

Training Camp Bravo-6, Carida

"New mission ladies!" Lieutenant Yuno yelled out to the assembled platoon, moving into the gathered three T1-APC's where the platoon was assembled after their latest success in training, "First platoon, we've been called by the old man to send a squad to the shoot box."

"The old man?" Wyatt whispered from where he was sitting next to his friend, Eva.

"Which one?" Eva responded.

"First squad! Mount up!" their squad leader, Sergeant Ferox, "Let's go."

The squad immediately piled into their tank, all twelve of them. They got into the vehicle in their trained order, with the DTL-18 gunners closest to the hatch and Sergeant Ferox next to them and the four-man fireteams seated next to them. Their ride was smooth but anything but quiet, they were ready and eager to go and attack the shoot box as they always did. It was their favorite thing to do in training, it wasn't a run and a fight tacked on at the end. It was a fight, from start to finish, nothing more nothing less. The shoot box was what separated the men from the boys, and was a source of pride for the troopers of the RVC.

"We're here, Bravo," Sergeant Ferox called out, "You're up first."

"We're first!" Wyatt heard his fireteam leader whoop. Corporal Mahan, a young Taanab dockworker from the other side of the planet, yelled out, "Let's go Bravo!"

"Told ya we did too well today," Eva growled, "I knew this would happen."

"Oh come on," Wyatt laughed, following everyone out of the vehicle and stepped out, "How bad could it…be…"

What they came out facing was a unit of Clone Troopers with two Jedi standing in front of them, speaking to the commanders of the units. The two groups just stared at one another, their black visors masking their faces, contorted into expressions of surprise, anger, annoyance, fear, and anticipation. The two Jedi looked back and forth, noting the tension through their connection through the Force.

"Get into ranks! What are we a bunch of womprats let's go!" Lieutenant Yuno yelled out, seeing the situation before him.

The RVC troops quickly shuffled into their platoon block, standing at attention.

"First platoon reporting sir," Yuno stated firmly through his helmet speaker to the Admiral himself and saluted crisply.

"Very well Lieutenant," Admiral Drexel saluted back, "Bring your first team forward."

"Yes sir," Yuno stated, and spun around and yelled out, "One-one Bravo! Front and center!"

"Shit," Wyatt growled, not liking being first, as he and the others had learned.

The four troopers sprinted forward, their fireteam leader on the far end. Wyatt held his A280 tight, with his Viper Underbarrel Grenade Launcher attached. He'd restocked his chest mounted grenade sling which was sling directly over his chest, with the powerpacks to his A280 under it in a neat line on his left hip and on his right hip he had grenades. All of them were practice rounds, really just a mix of droid poppers and flash bangs. He was the fireteam grenadier, and was one of three in his squad.

Next to him was Eva, who stood at the far end of the line, her gear being the lightest, but today she was the Combat Lifesaver, with their medkit in her big black backpack. On his opposite side was PFC Chane, their support gunner, with the team DLT-18 repeater and several of the more bulky powerpacks on his chest. Their other man was their fireteam leader, Corporal Mahan, who had the same battle gear as Eva, but had a long-range commlink on his helmet and the actual guts of the receiver as a bulge on his pack with an antennae on the side.

"Rex! Your men first," the darker clothed, younger Jedi called out.

Four Clone Troopers stepped forward, each with blue stripes on their dirty, dull white armor. Two had DC-15A's, one with a DC-15S, and the fourth had a Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon. The Clone Captain who'd been called out was more elaborate, with a markings that they didn't recognize. He had a shoulder pauldron and black skirt with an antennae on the side of his helmet.

The Clones had stepped forward, barely ten feet from the RVC troopers, with Wyatt facing off with one of the Clones holding a DC-15A. There were four other Clone Troopers, these ones in orange with what they recognized as a Clone Commander standing near them. These ones would have their chance soon enough, but he was more concerned with himself. They were familiar with the Clones, it was hard not to be. Everything they did they compared themselves to how the Clones did things. So for them to be obviously facing off with them here and now was a big deal.

"Now, troopers, you are here to take part in a series of combat exercises as a gauge to judge the progress of the Republic Volunteer Corp's training regimen," Admiral Drexel spoke out, stepping in between the two lines, "This will be a no-holds barred fight to the finish. No objectives except to destroy the opposing team."

"Remember, we are all the same team, soldiers of the Republic," one of the Jedi, Obi Wan, added, "Please take care to use your common sense when you're in there."

"Any questions?" Drexel asked, looking at his own men.

"No sir!" they all said loudly.

"And you men?"

"Sir no sir!" the Clones responded quickly and precisely, answering as one voice.

"Very well, take your places, and we'll begin," Drexel said, and the men turned to move, and Drexel waved the fireteam over, "Kick their ass troopers."

"Yes sir."

The four of them jogged over, with their comrades cheering them on. Eva was just basking in the attention, herself being a joker and usually the life of the party within their squad and in their platoon. As they opened the hatch to step in Wyatt had to snatch her from the back and drag her in with them. They were confronted with the elevator down into the pit, which was bordered by a tall rayshield. The elevator took them down, and they waited for the signal to engage.

"Alright, I took a peak at the pit, we've got an open middle ground with long short pieces of cover in the middle and tall walls on the edges. Chane, you and me will move on the right, you lay down cover fire. Wyatt, you and Eva move quickly into the middle and hit cover, we'll cover your movement. Use that Viper as soon as you come around the corner, hit the middle with a killshot," Corporal Mahan ordered them all, "Pin them down, I want those Clones in one place so we can use these scopes and blast them!"

"Roger that boss," Wyatt replied.

The light in the elevator flashed yellow, signaling for them to be ready as it descended and the four of them stacked up. The elevator hit the bottom, the light flashed green and then the doors slid open. The fight was on.

"Go!"

The four troopers sprinted out and were greeted with the light of day and the reality of facing soldiers bred for war with only six weeks of training under their belts. But they rushed forward anyway blasters tucked to their shoulders. The first to hit the front was Wyatt, who quickly fired off a stun grenade towards the Clones' door. The round flew out and he ducked down behind the middle right wall as Eva rushed past him and the round went off with a blue wave effect similar to a shot from a stun blast from a blaster. None of the Clones were in the vicinity, but it gave them pause enough for Chane to set up with his DLT-18 and let rip.

The rapid fire blaster began laying down huge amounts of fire, sending out the blue stun shots so quickly that there was less space between shots than were lengths of the combined individual blasts. These hammered into the Clones' cover as they fired now, one aiming at the form of Wyatt as he peaked around and fired from his left shoulder with his A280.

The accurate fire came right at him and he had to duck back, flattening himself against the wall as Eva opened fire on the Clone that had attacked him. One Clone dove between cover as they all lit up the opposite side of the wall where one had opened fire, and Chane redirected his fire at him. But the Clone Z-6 operator had been waiting on this, and he came around the corner on a knee and opened fire on Chane.

"Hit that guy Wyatt!" Eva yelled, pointing at the target spraying their position.

Wyatt pumped the action on his Viper and fired another grenade at the Clone in a rush. The rocket propelled grenade bounced off the wall behind the Clone gunner and went off in the air, catching the Clone in the back, and Corporal Mahan opened up on him while he was disorientated. Three shots struck the Clone gunner in the chest and he went down.

"One down!" Mahan yelled out proudly, "Advance, you take right, we take left!"

"Copy!" Wyatt responded.

"We'll cover you, bound up," the man ordered, "Chane cover fire!"

The two poked around again, laying down heavy suppressive fire as they saw one of the Clones with a DC-15A rush between cover and poke around to fire as Wyatt and Eva sprinted past two walls to the corner where Wyatt led them past it after clearing the corner. He stuck to the inside wall while Eva scooted further to the pit's main wall with blaster forward, conscious of any Clones poking around the corner.

"We're in position Corporal," Wyatt stated into his comm as he got to the end of the wall and poked his rifle around and fired at the shimmer of white armor across from him, but missed.

"Cover us, we're moving," the Mahan snapped quickly, and the fire stopped and Eva stepped up along with Wyatt who laid down some fully automatic fire from his A280.

"Wyatt look out!" Eva yelled as soon as they'd opened fire.

Wyatt saw the blue practice bolt streak past his peripheral vision almost immediately after she'd said that. His instinct to follow the bolt saw him watch Eva crumple against the wall with a loud groan, stunned from the waist down as she laid onto the trigger, sending a wild spray of bolts in the vague direction of the Clone that had shot her.

"Eva's hit!" Wyatt yelled into his comm link as he fired another grenade at the Clone at the corner looking straight down at them.

It went off against the ground in front of him, but he kept firing rapidly as he shuffled over to her as soon as the Clone was pinned and Eva had popped a smoke grenade to mask them. Wyatt latched onto her armor as the Clone came back around the corner to fire another few bolts at them but his immediate vision was obscured the bolts missed. Eva however kept firing, nothing but numbness in her legs.

The Clones stayed back, knowing that they were in for more of a fight than they'd originally anticipated. The four of them hadn't seen the Viper coming, the stun grenade had caught them all off guard and had led to their gunner getting a trio of practice blasts into their chest. So the unit had fallen back on their training, firing and moving, aiming to cut off the RVC troopers' advance time and time again.

"We're pinned down," Corporal Mahan called out, "Chane's down, I'm hit. Keep up the pressure on the right Wyatt. You're last one mobile."

"Dammit," Wyatt snapped, amazed at how quickly the fight had turned.

"I can't move on my own," Eva gasped, groaning as she tried pounding on her legs to put the feeling back into them as they leaned back against the wall in cover.

"Alright, we'll try and move forward, try and keep their attention fixed on you, we're more mobile."

"Copy," Wyatt responded, "Lay down and fire from here, I'll fire from the other side. Let's keep these Clones pinned."

Wyatt shuffled over to the other side of the wall and aimed at a Clone's rifle that was firing at the other two troopers opposite them. He fired at the Clone, zipping his rounds right past the rifle, coming close to striking his target. The other Clone opposite of him fired a quick burst in his direction, which forced him to flinch back and return fire.

"We need to move," Eva growled, "They've got us separated."

"You can't move remember?"

"No but you can," she grinned behind her visor, "I'll cover you."

Wyatt shuffled over to the corner as the fog began to fade away.

"Go!"

He sprinted forward, A280 to his shoulder as he gravitated to the side so Eva could have a clear field of fire and she lit up the entire area as he breached the smoke screen. The Clone trooper's DC-15A was clearly in his field of view and he began to sprint as fast as he could. He fired the instant he saw the Clone in his HUD.

The first shot hit home and the Clone crumpled backwards and he saw the form of the other two Clones aiming at Corporal Mahan at his position. He fired immediately, and the closest one dropped with the combined power of two shots to his back and the last one with the DC-15S fired immediately, making him duck down from ten feet away.

However, he was too slow, and he felt the stinging and then numbness of the shot that struck his shoulder and sent his rifle clattering to the ground. This was bad, he didn't have his best weapon, and the Clone Trooper more than likely knew it. So he began trying, with his left hand, to try and grab his SSK-7 Blaster Pistol that was on his right pistol plate hanging from his waist. That was awkward, and he didn't grab it in time, as the blaster rifle pointed in his face as he looked down the barrel.

But a single shot struck the Clone dead center, and he flinched back and saw behind him, it was Eva, who noticed her killshot and rolled onto her back and lifted her arms in victory and whooped ecstatically. She'd figured it out, and it took him a moment to realize it as well, they'd done it, they'd won!

Standing around the pit cheers from the RVC troops sang out as they celebrated their rather unexpected victory. Many had their helmets off, others waving their rifles or helmets. The Clones were all looking amongst themselves in surprise, while trying to figure out the way the fight had gone and quickly pinned down how the battle had progressed and why they'd ended up losing in the end.

The Jedi and the Admiral were very much active in their analysis.

"Looks like our men were overpowered," Obi Wan surmised.

"It wasn't a fair fight," Anakin grumbled.

"I underestimated the effectiveness of that grenade launcher, who's the man using it?" Captain Rex asked.

"Lieutenant!" Drexel called out, "Who was the grenadier of that fireteam?"

"Private First Class Wyatt Lullian," Lieutenant Yuno responded.

"My compliments on a job well-done," Drexel said, motioning to the troops as they started picking themselves up off the ground.

"Mine as well, he knows how to use that thing," Rex added.

"Our secret is our firepower. We don't have the same training, same experience, but we make up for it massive amounts of fire for a small unit. It's the way we plan on evening the odds."

"Just barely it seems," Rex chuckled, "One missed shot and that battle ends differently."

"But it ended our way this time Captain," Drexel responded, "And that's the only time it matters, the one before."

"We're not done here sir," Commander Cody spoke up, "The rest of my boys want a crack at them."

"Fair enough, let's go."

Commenor, Chasin City

The docks around Chasin City were a mighty sight. The great volume of ships of varying sizes was an incredible sight for most who visited. But such a high traffic place was perfect for hiding.

Deep in the depths of the seedier part of the docks was a pair of hooded figures with E-5 Blaster Rifles held in their hands. They weren't any ordinary smugglers or thugs, the two Sullustans were Separatists. They stood in front of a door that led into a complex run by a Separatist spymaster and smuggler, running spies and intelligences to and from the fortress of the Core where the Republic's forces prevented any sizeable force from running amok.

It was a sizeable operation, with no battle droids, but over thirty spies and soldiers in an old apartment complex that was a run-down box in the lower levels. But on the inside it was modern, clean, and operating as efficiently as any other spy nest in the galaxy. Here they relayed the latest news and movements on Republic forces and movements and intentions. But that operation was about to end, and it wasn't the Clones that were going to do it.

Waiting in the shadows gray armored special operations troops crept forward. There were nearly fifty of them, each with a set of armor that was bulkier than their regular counterparts. Their closest aesthetic counterparts were another renowned special operations force, the Clone Commandoes. In fact they shared part of their name with their GAR counterparts.

These were the Caridan Commandoes, the elite special operations unit of the Core which had long waged a war against pirates, smugglers, slavers, and gangs of all kinds. They were now the elite special operations of the Republic Volunteer Corps, and were on a mission, destroy the Separatists' spy rings in the Core. They'd successfully done so a few times, but now they had a jackpot. Leading them was a legend on Carida, a veteran of several wars, Colonel Myec, leader of Caridan Commando Team Dagger.

They were organized into teams of six commandoes within three platoons each with six teams organized into a single company which bore the name Commando Team Dagger.

"Dagger-6 all stations," Colonel Myec whispered into his comm, "Report readiness."

"Dagger-1-6, Green," came the response from his first platoon, situated opposite of him where he was with second platoon.

"Dagger-2-6, Green," second platoon's commander continued. They were with Myec, on the right-hand side of the building in an alley like first platoon.

"Dagger-3-6 green, overwatch in position," third platoon added.

They had two of their teams on overwatch in a run-down apartment complex situated fifty meters opposite of the target with their gunners dominating two streets that passed through the square that the target building was part of and had a deadly crossfire. Their other four teams were in position in the building ready to establish themselves as a blocking force and emergency assault unit in case they didn't crack the target the first time.

Each rifleman was armed with an A280 with a Viper grenade launcher with their support gunners equipped with a DLT-18/C, a version of the DLT-18 that had its barrel shortened. Their snipers had the A295 as their mainstay rifle. As an added measure every single one of them had suppressors on their blasters, to eliminate sound.

"All Daggers, execute operation," Colonel Myec ordered once he had the green signal from his unit.

The platoon began shuffling forward, blasters aimed forward and advanced in columns towards the building, watching the balconies that were segmented all around the building for each apartment to have their own balcony. But this made it dangerous to assault without overwatch.

The gray camouflaged commandoes emerged into the reddish light that seemed to pervade the night of the lower levels. Myec himself stayed back, maneuvering to give himself a position to watch and command his unit.

"Snipers, take out their eyes."

Two blue circles of stun blasts from the opposite building smashed the bodies of the two Sullustans and the commandoes rushed forward, a team to a window. Two men clapped restrainers on the two Sullustans and dragged them away.

On a signal one man smashed the window in front of them in a shower of glass and a handful of flash-bang grenades got thrown in. The weapons went off and dust was kicked up inside that wafted out of the windows as the commandoes rushed in. Half of them backed away and activated the jetpacks built within their armor backplates and zoomed upwards.

Myec saw blue flashes erupt in the windows as his breached. Yelling and screaming from the enemy as they were attacked by the surprise raiding force were easily heard. The commandoes had set their rifles to stun, easily subduing the sleepy and shellshocked CIS personnel. Myec's week of planning and scoping out the building were paying off. But it wasn't over.

"We've two squirters!" his comm spoke up, and he saw the lights of a pair of speeder bikes light up the alley behind the building.

"I've got 'em," Myec replied and ran forward with his jetpack powering up.

The speeder bikes, a pair of Geonosian models with Sullustans on them, zipped out and moved down out of the street and back into another street, too quick for his overwatch to open fire. But not too quick for him. His jetpack lifted him into the air and he zoomed up, and his HUD picked out the enemy speeder bikes and traced their path thanks to the assistance of all the security cameras placed around the area.

"Cutting them off!" Myec called out, and saw that the other twenty-four commandoes from third platoon were moving to assist. But he was the only one close enough to do anything about these Sullustans.

He angled himself to intersect the Sullustans, timing his jetpack's speed to hit them broadside. As he zipped out into the street one of enemy speeder bikes was right there, he spun and plowed a kick into the shoulder of one of the Sullustans, sending him spinning and tumbling onto the street, to get killed by a speeder that was coming from the opposite direction. Myec continued the pursuit, and the enemy now knew he was the last target. An E-5 emerged and was fired at him, and the speeder bike began picking up speed. His jetpack wasn't going to keep up, so he decided to end this, aiming his rifle's Viper at the front of the speeder he fired.

The rocket propelled round impacted just in front of the vehicle, and the flash bang did its job, causing the Sullustan driver to lose his concentration and didn't see the turn coming up. The bike impacted a barrier to protect the sidewalk and the Sullustan was propelled over the top and over the edge of a deep abyss that smaller ships would go down to access the lowest levels.

Coming to a halt the Colonel grimaced at the deaths of the two men he'd wanted to take prisoner.

"Squirters are KIA," he sighed into his comm, "Status?"

"Building is secured, all hostiles neutralized."

"We caught them entirely by surprise Colonel, we have a large cache of computer banks, untouched."

"Get the intelligence spooks over here to get what they can. The Admiral's gonna love this."

 **Another chapter complete guys, and I'm really excited. I'd taken a few minutes to trace out a potential battle and I've set the stage for it. And another thing, I'll also be doing a more realistic fighting style, I never liked the way the Clones fought, too wasteful of life for not enough in terms of results. They also don't use their armor very well and have little use for artillery aside from a handful of occasions. The force I've created does.**

 **So let's see what happens when I can turn them loose.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: A target is spotted, and the preparation begins.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

RVC Training Camp Bravo-4, Carida

The drills had concluded, with no small amount of hurt pride amongst the Clones and volunteer troopers. The overall day of tests went fairly smoothly, no serious fights aside from what the unit was supposed to do. But the Clones themselves had emerged with the majority of the matches ending in their favor in the platoon match-ups.

However as examined by Commander Cody, who'd broken down what had happened and educated the sour RVC platoon, the platoon of Clones was better trained for platoon level tactics in tight quarters whereas the RVC was better geared for squad and fire team level fights in closer quarters. In longer range fights the volunteers had drawn out easily as the better equipped troops. This was conceded by the Clones, who themselves grumbled unhappily about the scopes their opponents used being cheating.

With the tests complete the Jedi and their troops were set to leave and the RVC platoon was released to its parent unit. Now came for the analysis, which Admiral Drexel was honestly dreading. As the three gunships loaded up with their Clone troopers Anakin, Obi Wan, and Master Yoda stood ready to deliver their own conclusions to Admiral Drexel.

"Admiral, your troops have performed well," Obi Wan began, "Pass along my compliments."

"Thank you General," Drexel nodded in appreciation and looked to Anakin for his thoughts on the matter.

"They'll do fine," Anakin shrugged, "Still think having grenade launchers is a bit unfair for our men to face. But if our troops have trouble with them one on one, the droids should be careful engaging your men in open battle."

"That they should General Skywalker," Drexel smiled, much relieved.

"Pleased with what we have seen we are," Yoda surmised, "Ready for service we will leave to you."

"Thank you Master Jedi," Admiral Drexel bowed, "We're honored with your endorsement."

"Thank you for your men and women for their dedication and bravery," Obi Wan stated with another bow, and turned and boarded his gunship alongside Anakin as Yoda himself turned and boarded the ship as well.

"And Admiral," Skywalker suggested, "We would still recommend that they go through a small taste of low-intensity battle. Just in case."

"We've already reserved a target for such a battle. The Cularin System has asked for help, and I have taken upon the Volunteer Corps to break the Thaereian blockade."

"Low key, we'll be heading that way in a short while, Christophsis is in need of Republic aide," Obi Wan declared.

"We'll be available, should you require help Master Jedi."

Drexel watched the Jedi board the gunship and got a respectful nod from them as the doors on the craft shut tight, and they lifted off. It seemed almost anti-climactic, he'd been expecting pomp and circumstance, his forces deserved that. Although he could do that himself, given a bit more time he would formally activate the Republic Volunteer Corp.

Before that, they still had to continue training, refining their tactics, picking out leaders among the forces, and hone their skills in all regards. But publishing the excellent test scores among the force to encourage the progress of their forces' training regimen would be a good indication of the RVC's impending activation. But to get the fullest effect from this he would need publicity, and he knew someone who could help with that.

Holonet News Building in Kuat City, Kuat

"Sir, an Admiral Drexel is requesting to speak with you," the secretary for one of the main talking heads and journalists at Holonet News' Kuat Branch said calmly into at her desk where she was the first to answer any messages for her boss.

Within the spacious office of the reporter known as Erik Syno plants were everywhere. This was no surprise seeing as Erik Syno was a Zelosian, and had an instinctive mastery of horticulture as his main hobby. It drove his co-workers mad, especially the janitors who had to exercise extreme caution when in the immaculate but rather warm office.

The journalist was currently trimming a row of bamboo arranged along the middle of the front of his office while a few small droids took care of his other garden plants. He'd heard the message on the earbud he wore so he could move about and talk and do business as needed. And when he'd heard the name his secretary had mentioned his emerald eyes lit up, he was quite familiar with this man.

"Let him in please," Erik smiled as he continued trimming.

The door hissed open, and the warm air rushed out into Admiral Drexel's face, catching him off-guard, even though he knew what to expect, having been known the man.

"Erik," Drexel said, brushing some vines hanging from a slightly overgrown tree pressing on the glass ceiling, "I see your bosses got you a bigger office for your garden."

"No they gave this place for my dedicated service to journalism old friend," Erik replied without turning to address Drexel, but turned after finishing the last plant in the row next to the couches in front of his desk, "And I take it your service has gotten you command of a new fleet."

"You know of the Corp?" Drexel asked, although it wasn't so much a question but a statement.

"I always know what's new in the Core's militaries," Erik said as he walked over to his desk, Drexel following behind in his uniform.

"Then may I state something that you don't know but will want to be there for?" Drexel replied, pouring out a glass of water for him and one for Erik.

"Try me," Erik said, sitting on the edge of his desk.

"The RVC is being formally activated next week," Drexel informed him, "The whole force will be arriving at Anaxes for the ceremony."

"That'll be something," Erik nodded.

"Oh it will, all of our ships, in formation over the city, thousands of troops in blocks on the ground, it'll be a who's who of high society when it happens. Perhaps one of the most heavily covered events in the Core."

"Senators, nobility, the rich and famous," Erik listed out, "You're sure one to bring out all the stops."

"Oh yeah, lots of Senators," Drexel nonchalantly replied, "Plenty of big whigs to interview."

"Alright," Erik smiled.

"Some with connections to other Senators and sources," he continued.

"Okay okay stop drilling you've struck gold. I get it I'll be there and have it broadcast in prime time."

"Well that's one job done," Drexel grinned in victory, taking a sip of the water, "Now for my other favor. We want a combat reporter to be assigned to the RVC, someone who can be trusted to do the job but swing things…in ways that aide the war effort."

"I wonder who that could be Admiral," Erik responded, leaning back crossing his arms and looked out into space, "Someone that knows what to do and what not to do, someone who's got experience like mine, credibility as good I've got, and loyal to the Republic? I'm not sure who can fit that mold…"

"Who indeed," Drexel stated, "Well that's what I'm here for, just wanted to know we'll need a combat reporter."

"Which will be me," Erik declared, emphasizing his point by pointing his thumb at his chest.

"I see my work here is done," the Admiral nodded, sending a quick salute as he stood all the way up, noting how much age was having its constant effect.

"What work?"

"Getting you on board. See ya in a week."

RVC Training Camp Delta-5, Anaxes

"Begin!"

The single Anaxes Knight went to his battle stance, and moved forward into the tight circular unit. The single Knight was surrounded by six sparring droids, each holding an electrostaff. Normally Anaxes Knights would face one or two of these droids for training, which were advanced models of protocol droids with added flexibility and programmed combat skills. However the Anaxes Knight now facing these six droids was not one of the rank and file Knights.

His name was Kayles Titus, the Champion of Anaxes, which effectively meant he was the best out of all of the Anaxes Knights. In the latest Anaxes Champion Tournament he'd fought his way to the top, besting thousands of some of the finest warriors in the galaxy.

He stood there wearing only blue pants, gloves, and boots with his chiseled chest glistening with sweat from the training he and his fellow knights had been going through. In his right hand was his broadsword vibrosword of Songsteel. On his left arm he had his shield with his family coat of arms on it. He had his somewhat long dark hair tied back out of his face. He kept a thin goatee and a thin beard along his jawline, like the other Knights of Anaxes that could grow one. As he looked around with a smirk on his face at the challenge he'd ordered for himself he saw the expectant eyes of his comrades watching his every move.

He waited as the six droids circled, knowing that there would be an attack from two from opposite sides more than likely. Around him a crowd of other Anaxes Knights and other soldiers were watching him in anticipation of what he was going to do.

As predicted he saw a droid to his right and left, just barely in his peripheral vision, charge at him. They came at him at the exact same moment and with the exact same method of attack. So he picked the one on his right and stepped towards the droid and sidestepped the jab the droid attacked him with. The electrostaff passed his head as he stepped into the attack and jabbed his shield against the staff and gave a quick slice at the droid's neck, severing the head.

With the same motion he continued the swing and came back around and swatted the other electrostaff away and smashed into the droid's shoulder with his shield's sharpened edge, gashing and disabling that arm as the other droids attacked. He swung around and blocked an overhead swing without stopping his motion, kicking at the droid's midsection as the vibrosword forced the resistant metal to bounce away. As another droid swung at his legs from the right, he lifted his right leg up, stomped down on the staff, knocking it from the droid's grasp and crushed its head with his shield with same movement that he used to swung back to block a swipe at his core with his sword.

The other droids continued to press him and with a fiery spurt of forceful and surgical attacks Titus swiped at the three different droids in turn, being blocked, dodged and counter-attacked as quickly as he could. The droids had difficulty trying to figure out what to hit him with, as his own attacks kept coming, overriding the droids' programming to attack whenever he was not attacking them. But his assaults struck home when a droid swiped at him, missed and his blade sunk into the core of the droid and it collapse as he ripped it in half with his next move.

The other two were now better able to coordinate, and tried splitting apart from one another to come at him from a wider angle. With a silent mechanical attack the droids assailed Titus once more, and he took the attack in stride, as befitting his status. With the first blow came a sideways swipe at his right side which his shield slammed into from above and his sword came up from below and cut the droid's head in half and spun to meet the other droid. The final opponent came at him with a spinning staff came at him with a flurry of rapid strikes that bounced harmlessly against his shield and ricocheted off his sword.

With the last attack the droid made Titus waited to dodge the strike, and cut sideways at the arms, slicing one off, and then the other while the droid tried recovering. His shield came up and smashed into the droid's chin and sent it flying into the ground. Before it could try rising to its feet his sword was stabbed through its forehead.

Cheers erupted from the gathered Knights and soldiers. Titus reveled in the praise with raising his sword and shield into the air, knowing that he was one of very few that could put up such a performance. In his experience only Anaxes Knight Grandmasters or Jedi could accomplish such a feat.

"Well done sir," the senior master in charge of their exercises for the day stated evenly, tossing him his scabbard, "Get this cleaned up," he then ordered some cleaning droids as he stepped into the ring.

"Someone has a propensity for the flashy," his brother, Abel Titus, stated to him from where he was standing.

"I have a reputation to uphold don't I?" the younger of the two chuckled as he slid his sword into his scabbard and slung his shield over his back with a leather strap, "I'm Champion aren't I?"

Abel was Kayle's older brother by seven years, already a husband and father at twenty-nine while Kayle himself was still twenty-two, and very much a bachelor. And while his older brother was more restrained and humble the younger and arguably more skilled of the two was living like a celebrity, keeping himself at the front of all the action and public exposure. But such was the tendency for all Champions of Anaxes, especially the handsome ones like Kayle who knew it.

"Father always did say you were reckless," Abel chuckled, grabbing his younger brother around the neck and led them out, "Come on, let's get something to eat."

The two walked out in hearty chuckles while other Anaxes Knights gave Titus his just congratulations on a job well-done, the older ones giving nods of approval, and the younger more boisterous Knights more outspoken. They left the instructor building of what was now the RVC's chief training facility for the Anaxes Knights.

But it was still known by its ancestral name, The Heroes' Fortress, the lone castle on the planet to survive the Great Galactic War. Here a thousand Anaxes Knights and five thousand of their fellow soldiers had held and defended the ancient granite, durasteel, and shielded castle that stood upon a mountain overlooking the city of Pols Anaxes from an invading army of sixty thousand, including Sith warriors among their legions of soldiers and battle droids. They had fought this battle without the help of the Jedi, who'd been unable to send help, but the Knights had faced the enemy anyway, slaughtering hundreds of Sith and thousands of their soldiers. In the end, the old fortress had buried all but fifty of the Knights and three hundred of the soldiers who'd defended it.

These fifty Knights went on to form the bloodlines for which all Anaxes Knights could trace their lineage. When the castle was rebuilt and expanded as time went on, life-size statues were erected in the likeness of each Knight who had fought over those weeks of battle. The names of each soldier who stood and fought alongside them were carved into stone tombstones over each of their graves shaped to mimic the helmets placed on their blasters and stuck into the ground, as they didn't have time for proper tombstones.

All of these places were within the historical core of the castle, which was guarded by a ceremonial guard of fifty Knights and three hundred Anaxes troops, a tribute to those who'd survived. But the old citadel was no longer the command center, that was a modern section of the castle, which was in a modern durasteel wall where the training facilities and barracks of the garrison was present, built into the mountainside with the looming towers of the old castle over them. They walked on a skywalk above the street below where other Knights and personnel moved back and forth going about their business.

"I can't believe that we're doing all this," Kayle said as they looked out over the base, which stretched down into the valley where a large expanse of newly erected buildings housed an entire Volunteer Legion.

"We've been looking forward to this, yet, it's still rather surreal," Abel nodded as a flight of F6 Combat Dropships flew overhead in two columns.

"Don't have to tell me," he nodded, "Can't wait for the first action though."

"We all can't wait, but we have to. Although we'll be activating in a few days, I can imagine we'll be seeing action quite soon."

"Yeah I know, a girl I've been seeing in the control center said the fleet is starting to arrive," Kayle informed his older brother.

"You know that info is classified, what is she doing telling you that?" Abel snapped, keeping his voice down.

"Oh come on Abel, it's over a hundred ships, not that big a secret."

"Not my point!"

"Alright, classified info is not pillow talk," Kayle surrendered, holding up his hands.

"Make sure that's not just words, actually listen to me for once," the older of the Titus brothers growled as they walked down a flight of stairs at a small circular veranda where a line of young Knights were doing shield drills with circular metal training shields a foot across.

"That's worked well," Kayle said as they walked around the drill in progress, "Remember when you tried hooking me up with your wife's friend? Thanks for that misery."

"Oh come on that was your fault!"

"How do you figure? She was clingy and needy. I'm a Knight, not…whatever she needed."

"Yes you're a Knight, you're supposed to act like one."

"Oh here we go," Kayle muttered, knowing the lecture he was about to receive.

"You're supposed to be a model, something people aspire to. Father's told you how many times to stop acting like some prima dona?"

"Father's not here!"

"No he's with another unit, keeping an eye on others! I'm here to keep an eye on you," his brother said pointing an accusing finger at Kayle.

"I'm Champion of Anaxes, I don't anyone keeping an eye on me."

As he said that a massive shadow fell over them. They both looked up and saw four Acclamator Assault Ships descending below the clouds along with three Venators. All seven ships were painted entirely in red, and moved downwards towards the great Anaxes Naval Dockyards tucked into a neighboring pass with terraced open-air docks where ships as large as the KDY warships of the RVC could land. The docks were large enough so that the whole fleet of Venators and Acclamators could land and be serviced with anything from fuel to ammunition to replacing pieces of hull plating damaged in battle.

The two Knights could see the Taim and Bak turbolaser towers on the mountain tops in a state of relaxed calm. The defenses surrounding the base and the docks were well-protected, and all was well.

"Well," Abel grunted, "We'll see soon enough, I've got a feeling battle is coming, an important one."

"I hope so," Kayle grinned, "Then I can earn the title of Knight in battle, like father did."

"And his father, and all of our ancestors."

"I just hope we don't let them down."

 **Another chapter for this story done, and another coming up ASAP. I've had a lot of fun with this story and as I was writing this I was starting to visualize the characters as actors, like I was casting it for a movie. That got me wondering, if I were to cast actors to these characters who would I cast? I'll let you know next chapter.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Activation, and offensive operations begin.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the delay, I just got into a roll with A Brutal Reality. But now, time for a chapter I've been looking forward to.**

Chapter 5

Anaxes, Outside Pols Anaxes

What the citizens of Anaxes awoke to was a sight unlike any other they had seen in their lifetimes. Over a hundred Republic warships hovered over their city, their great bulk shadowing over their people. Striking red paint covered their hulls, letting them know that these are not Clone ships.

Although the occasion was such that everyone knew that these were ships of a new kind of force, one that was composed of people not that much different than them. These were volunteers from across the galaxy, and they were set to ship out as a now united fighting force, hopefully worthy of their ancestors. Tens of thousands of troops stood on the great flat plains outside the city, standing in formation. Battalion block formations were in neat grids all over the plains, with lines of officers in the front of their battalions.

In the very front of these formations were the thin lines of armored, cape wearing Anaxes Knights. They, like everyone else had their weapons equipped, sword and SE-14R repeating blaster pistol in their case, already equipped. With left hands on their sword handles as they stood the Anaxes Knights' capes blew gently in the wind while the A280 and DLT-18 wielding troopers stood in silence, rigidly facing forward.

Above them the formations of the RVC's fleet over a hundred ships stood ready, massive starfighter wings and squadrons circling amongst the ships. The citizens of the city stood on any platform, balcony, or anything that could support them to see the soldiers that they knew represented the patriotism and will of the people of the Republic. It was a sign of just how committed the Republic was to this war.

Holonet News crews were covering the event, and someone else was there to oversee and help commence this official activation of the Republic Volunteer Corp.

"Chancellor Palpatine!" a great voice boomed out over the loudspeakers and the whole field of troops stood firmly and looked up at a floating platform over the gates of the city where Chancellor Palpatine was standing with several senators near him.

Palpatine had been forced by politics to be here. It wouldn't have been right for some senator to do this, he was Supreme Chancellor after all. These soldiers were all here to fight for the Republic and if he didn't make this speech, show his face, and all of that sort of political idiocy the average citizen wouldn't see him as loyal to the Republic as he would need to appear. It was simply necessary, and he had to make this look good.

"This is it huh?" Kayle Titus whispered to a private comm channel to his brother standing in another row of his company while he himself stood in the lead of the Anaxes Knights alongside Golden Grandmaster Herex, the overall commander of the Anaxes Knights.

"I'd like to see the look on his face seeing the power here," Abel chuckled back. House Titus was politically was not a fan of Palpatine, so any little snub to him was appreciated.

"The Republic has no army eh? How do you like us now?" Kayle grinned beneath his helmet, snapping an eye over to the Grandmaster, just to make sure the older man didn't hear him, although he personally doubted it.

The Grandmaster was a rank held by fifteen Anaxes Knights elected by the leading members of the different houses. It was a rather unique process that wasn't fully understood by those who looked in from the outside due to the nature in which the Anaxes Knights, as an institution, ran themselves at a high level. The Great Grandmaster was then elected by the Grandmaster Council, who then had to be replaced as he could no longer vote on the council as one of what were colloquially known as the "White Capes".

This rank and cape theme was rather simple. A single normal Knight of Anaxes wore a red cape upon completion of his or her training. The cape itself was a marvel of technology, made of fire-proof, blaster resistant material. As a Knight this cape was a status symbol worn until the day they died. But some went on to become Masters, wearing a red cape with white trim on the edges. Usually the head of a house or an exceptional individual was awarded this rank and helped to train the next generation. Overseeing the entire training process were Senior Masters, wearing a red cape with golden trim on the edges. Then came the Grandmasters, who themselves wore a white cape with golden trim. These were usually legends in battle or exceptionally adept politicians, but those that wore the white cape had to perform their tasks well if they wanted to keep that rank. Ranking over them all was the all-gold cape of the Golden Grandmaster, the leader of the Knights of Anaxes.

Titus himself, as Champion of Anaxes had a special design on his cape, it was red like the normal rank and file Knights, as that was what he was technically. But emblazoned on the back was the emblem of the status of Champion, two silver crossed swords in the middle of his cape. That design would stay there even as he progressed to Master and hopefully beyond.

"Soldiers, Crew, Pilots, Knights, patriots all," Palpatine began his speech, "Your selfless bravery for choosing to step forward and protect the Republic is worthy of my thanks, and that of all. I cannot imagine the pride that you must feel standing here before us as guardians of our democracy. Today you step forth into a galaxy at war to fight beside Grand Army of the Republic as equal partners in the maelstrom of battle. I wish you all luck, and bid you safe travels, and good hunting. We shall all look forward to your gallantry on the battlefield and our enemies shall know to whom your loyalties lie, and for whom, you so willingly fight."

The Golden Grandmaster, even as old as he was, stepped forward with such strength and dignity and drew his sword. He lifted it into the air and with his helmet speakers set to project his voice he roared three words.

"For the Republic!"

Without delay the immense formations of Knights drew their swords and raised them high, shouting for all to hear.

"For the Republic!"

Behind them the rank and file troopers raised their fists and blasters high and themselves roared, after the Knights led the way.

"For the Republic!"

Sitting behind the Chancellor, overlooking all of this was a collection of high ranking Republic Senators and several more minor Jedi Council members. They could see the vast expanse of white blocks now vibrating with men and women cheering and chanting "For the Republic." It was a sobering sight for their Senate Commando guards, who were soldiers of the Republic in their own right, but they were overshadowed by these regular troopers and the vast armada assembled overhead.

"There's no stopping them, is there?" Senator Padme Amidala sighed to herself, watching the crowd subside now.

"They're patriots, even if we refused to allow our own militias and defense forces to directly fight there are always those who shall ignore us and fight anyway under another flag," Bail Organa sighed in response.

"There are several thousand Naboo in those formations, I can't believe that," Padme added now, "The Queen signed a directive barring our citizens from taking up arms, in the hopes we could stay out of the war and maintain our own police forces to protect Naboo."

"Alderaan followed the same directives, but more than ten thousand of my own people are down there and up there," Organa stated with almost an air of admiration in his voice, eyes gazing up at the Dreadnought Basilisk hovering over the city.

"I don't feel…betrayed Bail, just…amazed. That's really all I can say."

"War has a habit of making people do amazing things Padme," Organa noted, "Whether it is for the good or the bad, we shall have to see."

"For the sake of the Republic I hope so," Padme breathed quietly under her breath, remembering the stories of the amazing feats of the Jedi and Clones, "As I live and breathe I hope so."

The anthem of the Republic was now set to play. The great army below them now went to attention. The soldiers with their rifles now held them rigidly to their fronts, straight up and down. The Knights as well held their swords with both hands on the handle, the blade splitting their visor. Large screens floating throughout the city showed the red and yellow uniformed crewmen and women of the fleet saluting with their right hands aboard their many ships.

To those who had been keeping an eye on the progression of the war such images of unique non-clones in the Republic uniform was incredible. It showed that the war had been elevated to a new level. It wasn't on the part of the Republic as a government, it was by its citizens and the individual planetary governments who, before the war, seemed to refuse to commit to armed conflict. Now, with the anthem of the Republic now playing, they sure seemed ready to fight now.

On the ground with the soldiers along the sides of the great gathering where some of the VIP's were seated nearer to the ground in repulsorlift luxury barges was a small personal hover platform held a middle aged Zelosian reporter. Erik Syno, Holonet News, had secured his place covering the event with a half dozen camera droids and a support staff of senior assistants and plenty of top of the line equipment. He was standing there, speaking to the camera droid in front of him.

"As you can the activation of the Republic Volunteer Corps has gone off without a hitch," he started to the camera, "Behind me you can see the sheer scale of the force that has been assembled, trained, and equipped to a high standard by any measuring stick. The sources I've spoken with have informed me that the Republic Volunteer Corps is so far operating independent of the GAR, but that is soon to change, given time. Now I'm sure that to anyone observing these forces here the Republic will be glad to have them. From Pols Anaxes, I'm Erik Syno, Holonet News."

Carida, Caridan Special Forces Headquarters

"Yeah, really pretty," Colonel Myec laughed as he relaxed into his armchair in the officer's rec room in Dagger Team's own separate compound.

"Figures the Core pretty boys wanna have a show," one of his platoon Captains responded.

As they talked a young lieutenant poked his head in, "Colonel, the new equipment's here sir."

"The droids?"

"Looks like."

Colonel Myec stood up, grabbing his blaster belt with his A180 in it as always. He and everyone else in his command was wearing their usual assortment of black utility pants and boots, unless they were doing PT. They all either had a tight T-shirt or their black garrison uniform on but in the case of many of the company-sized outfit they just went bare chested out in the camouflage netting-covered workout area outside the rec building in the center of the closed compound.

Myec walked out behind the more junior lieutenant and saw a handful of his men sprinting by, obviously in the midst of a race. He walked on the snow-covered ground towards the blocky armory where a handful of his own men were sitting underneath the large patio at some tables, doing some maintenance and cleaning of their weapons. He went into the large building, and saw a young Nubian woman with a datapad waiting for him.

"Colonel Myec?" she asked.

"That's me," he replied.

"Handprint please," she ordered, holding out the pad with a blue label for him to place his hand on.

He did so, and the pad scanned his hand quickly, and blinked green.

"Now are they ours?"

"Yes, your Marksman-M's are all present, as are your new Marksman Deployers, they require some training to link properly but they are combat ready."

"Excellent, Lieutenant, if you'll please show her out," Myec said, getting a flirty grin from the Nubian girl who'd just delivered their new toys.

"Master, let's get these things unpacked," Myec ordered to the team Master Sergeant.

"Roger that boss," the older NCO stated he pried off the lid and pulled out one of the blaster-fitted floating orbs.

It was slate gray, with a single lethal hold-out blaster in the main housing and four folding legs inside for it to clamp down and manipulate objects as needed. Inside was a small amount of explosive, allowing it to act as a guided bomb. It was only slightly larger than a single thermal detonator, which meant that each Commando would be able to hold a protected tube on their backs filled with five of the things. They would be controlled with a neural link to the individual Commandoes in the same way they controlled their HUD's, meaning their company-sized team could field more than five hundred blaster-armed miniature droids and more than five hundred explosive devices.

"Nice," Myec noted, "We have the full requisite number?"

"Yes sir," the Master Sergeant responded, "A shade over a thousand for the whole team. Each platoon has two deployers for an extra emergency swarm of the damned things and each man has five tasked to himself. It's a helluva of a lotta firepower, even with hold-outs being the prime armament."

"And a helluva of a lotta credits to get them," one of the other officers added.

"Get everyone trained on them immediately, I want full combat readiness ASAP."

This was in reference to the list of targets he had on his desk, and the orders he knew they would soon be hitting like a freight train.

Man this one took forever, just had so much trouble getting it going and finishing it. Best to make the next part a jump-to sort of thing so I can move on as I see fit for the story. Let me tell you, I've got quite a plan for this story, really looking forward to it.

 **Now, I promised that I would give you guys some actors for how I would envision these characters if I were to cast them in a movie. So here's my cast for Soldiers of the Republic:**

 **Admiral Cynan Drexel – Edward James Olmos**

 **Lieutenant Wain Kuat – Jamie Bell**

 **Colonel Gaynes Myec – Max Martini**

 **Private Wyatt Lullian – Logan Lerman**

 **Private Eva Quartin – Nicola Peltz**

 **Captain Kayle Titus – Kit Harington**

 **You envision them as you see fit, but this is how I do it. I figure it's an easy way to do so and makes it more of a challenge to develop their characters and their surroundings. I'll probably have one or two more to cast as we go along, so let's go with these guys to start out.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: First contact with the enemy.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Location: Dreadnought _Basilisk_ , Thyferra

The Thyferra System was quiet, even with its strategic importance and the proximity of Separatist space. But having a Republic dreadnought in orbit along with its accompanying fleet meant that there was not much local CIS forces could do to dislodge them. Thyferra was a critical world for the Republic to hold, seeing as it was a hub of Bacta production and distribution so the mass of the RVC was positioned here, as a deterrent from any hostile attacks. For this the RVC's red fleet, now known by the nickname "Reds", were well-suited. Twenty-one Venator Class Star Destroyers escorting a Mandator-I made for a powerful motivator not to attack.

But the volunteer forces were not looking to sit in one place for long. They'd been placed there for a reason, and that reason was to attack and destroy the southern pocket of the Confederate's galactic territory. That was what the RVC's forces were built and designed to do. Their first target was a crucial one in this sector, Yag'Dhul.

"Yag'Dhul, that is our target gentlemen," Admiral Drexel said to his assembled senior officers, "It is the key to the Separatist industry world Mechis, which is the main logistics hub for their continued assault on Bestine and the rest of the Seps' planets nearby."

"We're throwing everything we've got into this operation," Commander Vay, his Chief of Operations continued, outlining the plan, "The whole force will take part. The planet's too dangerous for a ground assault due to its extreme tidal pull and the enemy have no fortifications on the planet because of that reason alone. Our plan is a simple one, we will launch waves of starfighters and strike bombers that will hit the droid warships and soften up the enemy for our assault fleet to engage them. Our intelligence reports that a fleet of three hundred enemy warships, including six Federation battleships, will be in orbit facing us."

A holographic image of the planet appeared in the center of the table with tiny droid ships marked as assembled around their battleships which were in a close formation around the hyperspace exit from Thyferra.

"To get in close we have been dispatching civilian smugglers to map in an exact hyperspace exit for our starfighters. They will engage the enemy battleships with seismic charge missiles in the opening waves followed shortly by proton torpedoes on the more minor enemy vessels. The plan is for our starfighters to do enough damage that the enemy formation becomes embroiled in fending off this assault as our own fleet jumps in and engages them at close range."

Drexel now leaned against the table and highlighted the big ring-like battleships.

"These battleships are our primary targets, as they possess the largest starfighter hangars and have the strongest shields and most weapons of any ship in their fleet. Destroy those flagships and the droid captains will be in disarray. Enemy maneuver protocol is to bring their forces in tightly when engaged by a large Republic force so that their fleet can move as one mass and be brought to bear on the largest ship in the Republic fleet to take out the flagship. Our squadrons will encircle this blob, and pour fire into it until the enemy fleet is destroyed."

Commander Vay stepped forward now to put the finishing touch on the battle plan.

"Our fighters will swarm any breakaway vessels that attempt to flee and destroy them before they make the jump to hyperspace. From there we shall draw enemy attention away from their Bestine plans to allow for Clone forces to drive them out. Then we launch our attack on Mechis, and destroy the factories and the retreating enemy invasion fleet in concert with Clone forces attacking at the same time."

"This offensive is needed rather badly gentlemen," Admiral Drexel insisted, "Bestine represents a key part of our buffer zone protecting our fuel supplies from Malastare. We destroy the forces the enemy has gathered to cut that off and we can cripple Separatist offensive operations in this sector. That is months of strategic advantage, allowing us to take the initiative and drive to Sullust, clear the Riima Trade Route, and take the threat of invasion away from Eriadu."

In a nutshell what Admiral Drexel had just outlined was the total objective of the RVC. Eriadu, the most populous Republic industrial world in the sector, was under threat from Sullust cutting the major hyperspace route to the Core. They had tried once before to cut this blockage from the route, but Eriadu's local clone forces weren't strong enough, and northern forces couldn't advance south because of the assault on Bestine. But now a new fleet and army had arrived to the front and could begin operations to deal a hammer blow to this Separatist piece of turf.

Location: Star Destroyer _Dauntless_ , Orbit around Thyferra

The air group of the _Venator_ Class Star Destroyer _Dauntless_ was assembled for their briefing on a coming mission. In fact it was their first real mission, and as such they were all incredibly excited. They were all dressed in their baggy red flight suits and white flak vest, life support gear on their chests with white helmets decked out in their unique personalized symbols. Their helmets wrapped around their chins with green visors, with self-contained comms in them, however they didn't have them on, and instead had them in their ready room hanging on the wall as the squadrons sat seated in rows, ready to get briefed.

"This is our first mission. All our training comes down to this, the real thing," Commander App said calmly, "The whole fleet is set to attack the Yag'Dhul system, the Admiral's decided we are the ones who will be the hammer."

Murmurs of confident agreement came from the assembled pilots.

"Now, the plan is simple. The bombers will hit them with seismic charges and destroy the battleships. Torpedoes will destroy the rest and soften them up. Their formations will be forced to close ranks and that's when their forces will be easy to encircle and destroy. The F-Wings will cover the bombers and take on their starfighters before they can hit us. The squadrons will move in orbits around the enemy fleet, making attack runs as they go. shoot at your targets as they are given to you by your squadron commanders, going to be a lot of traffic out there, lotta lasers flying around, can't have ourselves hitting each other."

There was a chuckle from a few of the pilots.

"Alright, this is what we've waited for, what we've been readying for," the commander said calmly, but dead seriously, "We are ready, I know a lot of you have been hearing the talking heads. They've been saying we're second-rate, we're not up to the job. Today they eat their words!"

A subtle cheer came from several of the younger pilots, who'd been hearing this for quite sometime. The pilot ready rec room was the center of their world whenever they were off duty and they always had something on having to do with the news, sports, or the RVC itself. The older pilots paid the news no mind but the younger pilots sure did. It served to light a fire in them that they could fight alongside the best of what the Clones had. Such a fire was good for a pilot.

Before the commander could get them to settle down to dismiss them the pilots heard the blaring of the high pitch alarm klaxon, signaling them to go to battlestations. The pilots rushed to snatch their helmets and charged into the hall as red helmeted and uniformed crewmen also rushed to their battlestations. A-280-armed security crews wearing similar uniforms as their brethren rushed to their massing stations in the hangar deck, a favorite boarding point for droids. A rainbow of different helmet and jacket colors were already in the hangar as the pilots ran in and fanned out to their starfighters.

Among them was Flight Lieutenant Teela Abya. A native of Corellia she'd had her sights set on an exciting life of danger in running dangerous cargoes in nimble CEC light freighters for big money. But war had broken out and the possibility of a life as an elite fighter pilot had proven to be too much to ignore. So she'd attempted to enlist in the Republic Navy, only to be shoved into the role of a secretary planetside. Her resignation hadn't even been processed by the time she had enlisted in the RVC, this time, as a pilot.

Her beautiful T-42 F-Wing wasn't a CEC-built craft, but it was hers and she'd learned to love the red-painted dogfighter and speed demon the F-Wing was built to be. Nimble and fast she'd run circles around the training drones and many of her fellow pilots with her fighter. Now, Teela had an opportunity to use it in actual combat, the realm for which legends were born.

"Ready for this?" her squadron leader called out to her as he went along the line of his squadron's twelve F-Wings, making certain his pilots were all set.

"Oh yeah," the young blonde grinned and began fastening herself into the cockpit, "I'll be ready for whatever the seppies can throw at us."

"Just remember, stay on your flight leader's wing, and don't chase kills," the older Corellian ordered her, patting her on the shoulder and jumped down from the ladder to move to the next fighter in line.

"Roger that skipper," she said shaking her head, an eager smile plastered on her face.

She checked the systems on her T-42 and saw all were green. Checking to be sure her superiors weren't looking she put in her own private holorecorder on her dashboard to record her first combat and share it with her friends and family. It wasn't against regulations per se, but it wasn't recommended either. However Teela felt herself to be a gifted enough pilot to be able to make these films look good.

Securing the holorecorder she saw a few canopies being closed around her so she hit the button to seal herself in, and with a swift pivot from behind her canopy sealed itself, hissing as it shut tight and the life support systems kicked in and took over.

"Silver Squadron, all wings report in," she heard get called out.

"Silver One standing by."

"Silver Two standing by."

The count went on to her turn, "Silver Eight standing by."

As the count continued she saw the first flights of fighters take off from across the hangar deck, their wing-like fighters gracefully accelerating out of the Dauntless to join many others. The young pilot saw a flight technician give the signal to the line of starfighters to start their engines. The F-Wing rumbled to life, purring in anticipation. It was a heck of a feeling being behind this kind of power, one that boosted the ego of most anyone who grabbed the stick and felt the starfighter answer their every command.

"Silver Squadron, take off by order," their squadron commander called out.

"Roger that."

"Roger."

"Taking off."

Men and women in the hangar deck waved and cheered their starfighters on. The procession of fighters and light bombers zipped by, with only the F-7 "Flying Brick" Dropships staying behind.

The squadron comms went quite active as the fighter wings now departed the safety of the hangar and zipped away into a crowded section of space that was quickly filling up with starfighters. M-Wings as they were nicknamed, also joined the much more numerous F-Wings that were forming into their squadron formations and then into wave formations. Teela could see their two seismic torpedos mounted under their hulls and grinned at the fact those particular weapons were about to be put to use. She'd squeezed one off in training and it was the most powerful weapon she had ever seen with her own eyes. If such a weapon pierced a hull the ship was destroyed or at the very least not going to be of any use any time soon.

Teela and Silver Squadron were in the third wave, their astromechs plotting the jump with ultra-precise coordinates. Their assignment was knocking out a wing of light destroyers at the lead of the droid fleet. It would be quite exciting for them, as they knew that these enemy ships had real hangar capacity for starfighters. Two hundred and forty Vulture droids were probably going to be greeting them from each of the three ships in their section. All in all, the Dauntless's three hundred and sixty F-Wings could possibly be outnumbered by two-to-one, possibly more.

This was where the Admiral's plan came into play. Teela and her squadron-mates would jump exactly two seconds after the second wave jumped which in turn was two seconds behind the first leading wave. In total six waves of more than a thousand starfighters each would be landing on top of the Separatist armada within a span of a twelve seconds. Behind them, two minutes later, would be the whole RVC fleet. If all went well the battle would be over in less than fifteen minutes.

"All squadrons will jump in three minutes," a monotone robotic voice informed them all as they maneuvered into formation.

"C12 we ready?" Teela asked her old astromech.

The astromech responded with a quick chirp. Like the rest of the RVC's starfighter astromech droids C12-D4 was a C12 model, a cheap, reliable, but somewhat temperamental model if it wasn't kept up with. It also depended on the pilot's preference, seeing as each droid was given a unique personality as it grew older and experienced more along with their assigned pilots.

The countdown timer continued on to the point where another timer for her own wave started up. It was now that each pilot and crewman felt fear and anticipation in their hearts, especially the pilots who were alone with their own thoughts. This was perfectly natural and was something that every one of them were experiencing except for those who were nearly insane. But that fear caused their feet and hand to shake and feel cold, their guts felt like doing backflips but they knew they had to control that.

"Wave one, jumping."

The formations of starfighters began cascading into hyperspace to their left. Then two seconds later, the other wave began pouring into hyperspace. This wave was close to the left-hand side of the formation of the third wave. She knew this was the time, and gripped her controls tightly. When the timer hit zero the stars stretched out, the ship buzzed, and then the fighter was kicked into hyperspace.

The F-Wing Teela sat in was ready to go, a new timer started up again, signifying the time that she had left before her fighter was dropped into the crucible of combat. The blue waves washing over past her eyes. Hyperspace was something she was familiar with, and they only had a few seconds left before the fleet of starfighters dropped out of hyperspace. Teela glued her eyes forward, watching as the stars reversed the process of what they had just done.

Dropping out of hyperspace she saw the speckled dots of starships grow into shapes, and then the shapes grew. The growing shapes became larger and the planet behind them also grew. Then there were the hundreds of starfighters that also showed up next to her and even more already zipping around, blue lasers and red lasers went back and forth by the thousands. Missiles and explosions dotted space as Teela wrenched her controls to pull up and rolled her starfighter.

The F-Wing pulled up again as she yanked back. The fighter rolled as she dodged the outstretched wing of a Separatist frigate as she fired her lasers into the underside of the frigate's flaming and exploding as a seismic charge blew it apart. She looked around as blue-trails from missiles struck into the sides of starship after starship. Explosions and flames ripped and tore at the Separatist fleet of hundreds. The clouds of starfighters zoomed and moved around fluidly in their formations seemingly without challenge. Teela could see that there were indeed Federation Battleships in orbit, and most of them were getting attacked, the hangar bays on the closest one were literally blown apart and the central core was flaming and the engines were dead.

That's when Teela saw a flight of Vulture droids zip past her line of sight as part of a stream of other such fighters. There were quite a few F-Wings already attacking the formation and so she heeled over to chase after some squirters getting out of the furball that was growing and fragmenting into roving dogfights and chases. She herself found that she was behind three Vulture Droids, and opened fire the moment she had them in sight.

To her glee the first one blew apart, sending one of the pronged wings into the bottom of the control surface of the second one. The second fighter began spinning lazily as it struggled to live. Teela fired again, blasting its control head into pieces and then with the same burst sliced off the last one's wing. That meant that three kills were attributed to her, and as she looked for another target a massive explosion rocked the battle zone as a Lucrehulk fully detonated and blasted apart the nearest enemy ships.

As she saw that happen a pair of F-Wings blew apart in front of her as red laser bolts from behind her struck them. She saw the red markings of the two Vulture Droids flew down onto her six o'clock. How She yanked her fighter to the right to evade, red lasers zipped by her canopy and she responded by spinning trying to thread her fighter through the gap between a destroyed light destroyer about to crash into a damaged frigate. But she misjudged the distance in her rush to break away from the hostile droid fighters, and the larger Recusant smashed into the smaller Munificent.

"Oh crap!" she yelled and yanked up and rolled her fighter.

She inverted over the wrecked ships bending and snapping their hull plates and support beams. Pieces flew by her canopy and she heard the pinking noises of the minute pieces of debris. But another piece of wreckage struck her F-Wing and red lights went up on her controls and she saw that her right wing had a piece of jagged wreckage jutting out from it and fire and smoke leaking from the jagged hole. But red lasers from the stubborn Vulture Droids.

"This is Silver Eight I could use some help here!" she called out to her squadron.

"I'm on my way Silver Eight," Silver Six responded quickly, the blue symbol on her HUD flashing white to signify who it was.

"Hurry up, my systems' are dying," Teela said aloud in warning.

"Break right!"

Teela yanked the stick right as she saw the approaching friendly F-Wing from in front. Blue laser fire blinked the two Vultures out of existence. She saw her power levels starting to drain and pulled out of the battle straight up. The fighter was fairly badly damaged, but Teela so far was still in control.

"There's the fleet!"

Teela turned to her right and saw numerous red dots start dropping from hyperspace and grow into the shapes of numerous star destroyers and cruisers. Then the huge bulk of the Basilisk jumped in, dwarfing the numerous burning and damaged Separatist ships. As the ships dropped out their turbolasers immediately opened fire. The leading warships began spreading out, firing away as they began to encircle the enemy fleet.

Republic ships continued to pour into the system and pour fire into the vast fleet. Wreckage was continuously clogging the battlespace. Their forces were doing this almost too easily as the starfighter swarms bailed on the close-in assault they had been conducting. The enemy warships were targeted one by one by individual groups of Republic ships and exploded or died quietly. The enemy fleet just couldn't maneuver freely in their tightly packed formations and the Venators and the other supporting ships were pumping them full of fire. Their forces were unable to fight back, and were slowly being wiped out.

"We're doing it," Teela said aloud, "We're winning!" then she saw her power levels, "Oh crap."

Her fighter was starting to die, and she didn't know if she'd be able to make it back to the Dauntiless. But she didn't mind the SAR bird having to come out to tow her back. The view here was just fine, hundreds of enemy ships drifting dead in space was a fairly nice view, it looked like victory.

 **That's the first battle won, next is the fallout, what will the Republic think? What will the Separatists think? Well they won't have time to think, there's still a war on.**

 **What do you guys think so far? Should this go AU or an untold story? I'm not sold either way.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Mechis is next on the list, time to deploy the dagger of the RVC.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Location: Separatist Dreadnought W _ainrider_ , Mechis

"What do you mean our reserves have been destroyed?!" General Lintt, the Sullustan commander of the Bestine offensive, roared in his native language, "That's impossible!"

"Negative, the reports are accurate, three-hundred and seven ships have been lost in action in the Yag'Dhul system," his tactical replied succinctly.

"We only have two-hundred ships left! We can't maintain our attacks with this loss," the commander said as he leaned against his flagship's captain's chair, rubbing his eyes as he searched for the answer, "And it was a fleet intelligence said would never take the offensive!"

"It was an eighty-two percent chance that the Republic Volunteer Corps would remain in Thyferra as a holding force to keep pressure off of their Bestine defenses."

"It seems we will need more reinforce-," the general started but his Providence-Class Dreadnought shook all-of a sudden and the officer was thrown to the ground.

"We're under attack!" the blue-painted OOM Battle Droid called out in its whiny panicking voice.

General Lintt looked up from the ground to see a massive shadow cast over his flagship as a solid mass of red-painted durasteel with blue turbolaser blasts pouring from the sides of the ship that was passing next to them. Explosions rocked the Separatist dreadnought, the two-thousand meter Providence-class being torn asunder by the fire of a its much larger opponent, which seemed to had taken personal issue with its mere existence.

"Order a retreat!" the Separatist commander yelled as he looked out of the bridge to see a squadron of frigates and destroyers being viciously attacked by a rapidly moving squadron of Venators as swarms of red starfighters zoomed by his window.

"The engines aren't responding ."

"Communications are jammed," another the pilot droid stated firmly.

"They've exploited their advantage," Lintt roared in disgust, as he slammed his fist down on his chair, and realized his twenty ships in orbit around Mechis were soon to be wiped out so he rushed to an escape pod, growling to himself as it launched, "Next time…"

Dreadnought _Basilisk_

"Enemy flagship has launched escape pods."

"Hostile fleet has been rendered combat ineffective," another officer called out in excitement, seeing the enemy ships exploding under the combined fire of the RVC's strike fleet.

"Starfighters have secured the local space, enemy orbital defenses are powering up."

"We caught them offguard, all ships hold distance, stay out of range of those Orbital Defense Cannons," Drexel calmly ordered, knowing the firepower of the twin-boomed floating guns.

"Aye sir."

His large flagship had easily swept aside the Separatist Dreadnought, a ship a quarter the size of his own. He'd deployed half the fleet to destroy the orbital defenses of Mechis, a factory planet of the Separatists and one that had been manufacturing parts and droids for their opponents on a massive scale. His dreadnought and three of their Task Forces, each made up of three _Venator'_ s, four _Acclamator_ 's, a _QuasarFire_ , two _Arquitens_ , and six CR90's, had launched a lightning strike immediately upon securing that the enemy fleet was obliterated over Yag'Dhul. This had caught the Seppies entirely off-guard, and now the squadrons of starfighters were systematically taking apart the enemy defense platforms and orbital guns that protected this planet.

As explosions sprinkled the multitudes of guns and platforms the red fleet awaited their opportunity. Their ground forces had yet to engage in a major battle against droid forces. Today would not be that day, today the RVC would execute the first Republic use of a protocol that was normally never dared to be used.

"We have eliminated the enemy's orbital defenses," an officer declared.

"Move us into orbit over the factories," he ordered loudly as he looked out at the volcano covered planet.

The fleet maneuvered through the debris of ships and satellites, smoke and small fire and electric pulses coming off of the wrecks. Soon, it was spread out over the droid factories, a massive complex many miles long and wide.

"Scans," Drexel ordered.

"Detecting nearly thirty TF super freighters and many more enemy dropships, must be picking up battle droids."

"Well let's make sure they don't get to use them," Drexel nodded and took a deep breath, "Are the cameras rolling?"

"Aye Admiral," an NCO stated, "The press has been recording nonstop since we attack Yag'Dhul."

"Very well, all ships, execute protocol! Base, Delta, Zero."

"Aye sir," his gunnery officer responded, "Base Delta Zero. Gunnery has the conn, rotate the ship to port four-five degrees. All batteries set your guns to maximum firepower."

A series of green lights switched on as the batteries and turrets answered ready. The commander in charge now turned to the Admiral. Around the planet the whole fleet of star destroyers rotated upon their axis and their turrets turned to target the large factories.

"All batteries, execute."

Press Room aboard the _Basilisk_

"By the Force, they're bombarding the planet," Erik Syno breathed in amazement along with his crew of cameramen and support staff.

"It's uninhabited isn't it?" his cameraman asked he tracked the brutal bombardment tearing apart that section of the planet's surface.

"The only people down there run the factory so they're fair game," Syno stated as he straightened his outfit.

"Well it looks like this group isn't messing around," his makeup assistant sighed.

"No, no they're not."

As they watched entire factories had massive gaping hole blown open in them as entire sections of factories and storage warehouses filled with droids were wiped away by the turbolaser fire from orbit. Hovertrain lines were shattered and their cargo-laden trains smashed into the molten lava or rocky crags below. Transports were destroyed by the intense fire that wiped the merchant fleet out entirely as the landing platforms were targeted immediately. Fires were everywhere, choking the area as the intense orbital bombardment wiped the Separatist factories from existence, blasting to the rocks and magma below.

Mechis, once a jewel and key hub war industry, now lay in ruins at the hands of the first Base Delta Zero the Republic had ever used. It would not be the last the galaxy would see.

Planet Harrin

The Separatists had been wiped out once their command and control had been destroyed as three GAR _Praetor_ -Class Battlecruisers and their own fleets smashed through the remaining hundred enemy warships, finishing off the entire enemy presence from Yag'Dhul to Bestine. As a total campaign the Republic was declaring the victory as one of grand proportions, and the RVC was taking the greatest portion of the glory. Images of their "Reds" smashing a Confederate armada were streamed across the Holonet.

But now the RVC needed one last cherry on top, a ground engagement, one that could show that they were the total package. For that, the planet Harrin was reserved for the taking. The 1st Volunteer Task Force had been given the honor to attack the planet and take it.

Private Wyatt Lullian was sitting in the barracks in his full armor, waiting like the rest of his unit. They'd been told of their mission, liberate the planet Harrin from the yoke of the Separatists. His unit had been handed camouflaging spay-on paint, and they'd painted their armor into a mess of dark green, black, brown, and lighter greens. His black backpack was on, filled with pretty standard equipment: ammunition, grenades of several types, a poncho, rations, a digging tool, a med-kit, and the ever-useful extra water canteen.

Wyatt sat there in the barrack on his bunk, A280 barrel in his hand and the stock on the deck as his foot tapped nervously as he kept his eyes glued to the ground as he waited. The briefing had been given, their unit had a simple objective, take a large town and the network of spaceports inside. It would be a tough fight, with a heavily urbanized environment built on hilly terrain. It was garrisoned by several thousand battle droids and their armored vehicles. Yet the Third Volunteer Legion was ready, its fifteen thousand troopers awaiting their own day of combat.

"You good Wyatt?" asked his friend Eva Quartin as she sat down next to him.

"No, I'm fine," Wyatt responded, "We're going into battle aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are," she shrugged, "Kinda scared myself."

"You? Scared?" Wyatt playfully responded, giving her a slight push.

"Aren't you?"

Wyatt frowned as he looked down at the ground, knowing she was right, they were all scared.

"Yeah…we've been trained of course, but we've never actually fought for real."

"You'll do fine kid," their platoon leader, Lieutenant Yuno, said as he passed next to them, wearing the same armor as them to mask the fact he was an officer, "Remember your training, that's what you'll fall back on in the midst of the fight."

"Yes sir," they both responded as they stood to their feet.

The lieutenant nodded and then called out, "On your feet first platoon!"

"Second platoon!"

"Third platoon!"

The calls went rapidly as the company rose quickly to their feet, grabbing their weapons and slipping on their helmets. Wyatt checked his string of spare grenade rockets in chest pockets. All of them were there and ready, his A280 and Viper grenade-launcher were ready, and he knew his utility belt was ready, with three grenades, all droid poppers, two smoke screens, a canteen, a knife, and a pair of power packs for his rifle, giving him fifteen hundred rounds, more than enough for a battle.

The troopers assembled, and then into their columns and followed their officers. They made their way out at a jog to get their blood pumping, joining many other units also moving out to the hangar. All were in different camouflage, but all to the same color scheme. It was an awesome sight to see the organized masses of troopers moving towards their dropships.

The dropships had been previously prepared, their rocket pods and missiles fully loaded. The vehicle carriers had already been mated with the various tanks and artillery that they were meant to carry while the smaller T1-APC's were able to be carried by the F7 "Flying Brick" Infantry Carriers. The whole first wave's force of armored personnel carriers were loaded, including Wyatt's own APC. He was ordered into the large standing landing bay of the drop ship while the crew of the APC jumped into their vehicle. Wyatt was crammed in next to Eva, and both held onto the handrail next to each other. They'd been together since the beginning, and now were together before battle and soon during the heat of battle.

"Alright, here we go!"

They felt the conveyor belt moving, launching the troopships before them in rapid succession. They waited, well aware of the rough rid they would soon have. When they dropship dropped they held on and bent their knees in reflex to take the rough ride. The group knew that they were on their way, and the first evidence of their impending danger was the red lights taking over within the landing bay.

"One minute to drop."

"Here we go Eva," Wyatt responded with a nod to his friend.

"Try to stay alive?" she responded.

"Always."

They all felt the sudden drop of the speeder below the dropship, and then felt their craft settled and all of them readied themselves. The door opened, unleashing a spear of light and noise and all of them rushed out, jumping out and to the ground where they had hip high green grass masking it. The wind and turbulence from their numerous dropships landing caused the grass to wave about in all chaotic directions.

Wyatt's boots hit the ground and instinct ordered him to duck to the right as he followed his comrades who rushed to the sides and ducked down with rifles and repeating blasters aimed out. He could hear the rapid yet organized comms going off in his ear amongst his squad, but his own panting breaths were what was ringing the loudest in his ears. The young Tanaab trooper looked about and saw dozens of dropships and armored RVC vehicles on the ground and lifting off as they established themselves. After a quick run he dropped to his belly in the grasses and finally got a look around after sweeping the area.

They'd landed in the middle of an open field with trees planted along a road off to his right and a modern farming homestead off to the left, easily distinguishable with its tall windmills and a tan boxy barn and domed house, mostly underground. Bushes and trees were all around this homestead and he was immediately reminded of home. But was snapped back to reality as a flight of four red T-42 F-Wings zoomed overhead. The area was indeed secure, as the lack of battle informed them. Soon the other dropships had deposited their loads and were gone as many others flew overhead in long parallel lines.

"First squad, we're moving out, stay alert," his squad leader ordered them all, presumably after orders had come down.

He hesitated to get to his feet but once to his knees he saw the massive wave of troopers trudging forward and joined his squad on the left flank of the platoon formation, in the lead of their company. Their T1-APC's maneuvered quickly into formation amongst them, and they had been ordered into their vehicles, and quickly began piling in, clearly much safer and faster in their shielded speeder tank. In front of them the T4-A tanks were moving into their own arrowhead formations. The mass of RVC vehicles, in similar camouflage to Wyatt and his comrades, was moving quickly now, as the linked HUD's showed.

"Alright, here's the lowdown," their platoon leader called out on the comm, "Looks like the Seppies hadn't been expecting a large invasion force this quickly and only a few droid units are in position. Trouble for us is that the populace is not keen on the Republic planting its flag out here. Local militia are garrisoning a town along with droids in their bases underground. Our job is to take a village on the road there, we're up against what intelligence is calling a mechanized militia company."

"Mechanized?"

"WLO-5's from all outward appearances, light tanks," the man replied, "We've determined roughly a hundred hostiles in all-black padded armor with helmets and face-masks," the lieutenant explained.

"Militia?" Eva wondered aloud, "I thought the people here were pacifists?"

"Guess not," Wyatt responded with a shrug to her.

"We're one minute out, artillery is standing by to hit the enemy once we've driven them into the open. This it, first combat," Lieutenant Yuno replied.

A moment later the vehicle halted, and the hatch quickly opened. The squad piled out as usual and ran out and moved to the front of the T1-APC. A wooded rise covered them and they all ducked down behind it and into cover. They saw the town below them, made up of all-white buildings, most with rounded edges, chalky facades, cobblestone streets, and market stands aplenty. There was a minor spaceport present, but it wasn't even worth being called that, located on the edge of the village with a large platform and a handful of crates. It was a lot like any other village in farming land, in fact Wyatt couldn't help but draw comparisons to the village that was near his ranch.

"I've got eyes on a position," Eva called out, looking at the village through her scope, "Repeater on the town hall, middle window."

"Movement, got movement, tank got a tank!" someone else called out.

"Got it," Wyatt responded, looking at the dark gray tanks with the large engines moving by deeper into the town along with several all-black soldiers with black visors that covered their whole faces connected to a helmet that splayed out back to cover the neck. They also seemed to be armed with a different version of the E-5, a longer barrel was placed on the end of the housing, and a telescoping stock on the back.

"You sure those're militia? Don't look like militia," Eva noted.

"They're not," Lieutenant Yuno agreed, "It's Sabaoth Squadron, their land forces, I'd recognize that group anywhere," he then passed word up the chain of command as to the Sabaoth presence here, and apparently received orders to begin the attack as he came back deadpan serious, "First platoon we're pushing into town. Stay with your vehicles. Pop smoke!"

Several troops tossed their gas canisters out into the field and when that happened red blaster fire poured from the town buildings. Wyatt ducked down immediately. He was being shot at for the first time. A single bolt could potentially kill him or any of his comrades. So far none of the red bolts coming at him were from cannons. But thus far, none of them were hit, just the immediate instinct to duck into cover taking over. Then the first sound of their own A280's opening fire greeted their ears let them know it was time to fight.

He pulled himself up, tucking his rifle to his shoulder and opened up on the source of the rapid fire blaster bolts. Before he could tell if he'd done any damage he heard the loud warbling noise of a T1-APC driving up next to him and looked up to see this vehicle hovering through the tree line and push over the hedges as it moved into the open. He knew it was time to advance and pushed himself back up and rolled over to be behind the large vehicle with Eva pulling him up once he got there. They were all moving in their lines behind the shielded vehicle as it and others of their platoon moved forward under fairly intense return fire that splashed across the shields.

"Return fire!" their squad leader ordered them, noting that they were just trudging along behind, unwilling to shoot back and poke their heads out.

Wyatt saw a DLT-18 gunner immediately obey, firing a rapid burst into the nearest building and soon the others were doing likewise, and Wyatt primed his grenade launcher. He saw a trio of Sabaoths poking their heads up on a building roof and firing down into them and pulled up his rifle and hovered his finger over the grenade launcher's trigger and hit the button, sending the RPG straight at the corner of the building where it exploded and blew a gaping hole in the roof wall.

"Clear these buildings! Go!" his fireteam was ordered once they got to a cantina and they all broke from cover and rushed to the wall and made their way to the open door.

Wyatt was the first there, and when he peaked in a red blaster bolt smacked into the entryway and he instinctively ducked back. Eva acted quickly, tossing a flashbang grenade into the open cantina and it went off. Training kicked in, and without thinking once he felt the tap on the back of his helmet he rushed in. He planted his foot against the opposite door frame and leveled his A280 at the left side of the room as Eva was almost next to him moving to the right side of the door. It happened all-too fast. When he ducked around he saw the first enemy soldier trying to turn a table over against the wall, his first area of responsibility. Instinct took over as he moved towards him and he fired a center-mass trio of killshots and saw his target drop. He'd just killed a man.

But Wyatt couldn't dwell, he saw the black armor of a Sabaoth trooper pop his head from a cubbyhole in the corner where a table was overturned for protection and fired at the enemy trooper. The blue bolts pounded the man's cover and he made a break for it, but Wyatt now his fireteam leader tracked him cleanly and shot him with a bolt to the side and as the target collapsed and both fired again as he hit the ground, hitting him several times in the chest.

He only vaguely saw the third Sabaoth but he didn't need worry, Eva took care of him. The man tried to pull his blaster rifle up and fired a single bolt but Eva shot him cleanly through the black blast-shield. She rushed to be sure that others weren't there and signaled clear.

"Clear!" their fireteam leader yelled.

"Room clear!" Eva answered.

"Move to the back, quick," the corporal quickly ordered and ran to the back door, where it was possible that the enemy was there.

All of them were ready and they hit the door controls and it opened. A staircase down to a basement was darkened and was only lit when a pair of enemy soldiers opened fire from below and they all decided to toss a more lethal grenade down there. Wyatt saw their gunner roll a thermal detonator down the stairs and it exploded below and a glut of fire and smoke spewed from the basement and they all rushed down the steep stairs. Their opponents were down there, smoldering on the ground. It was a clearly cleared building now.

"All clear!"

"1-1, 1-1-Bravo, cantina secure," Corporal Mahan said into the comm.

"Bravo rejoin the squad at the three-story building, marking on HUD. We're clearing it."

"Let's get back to the platoon," their corporal ordered and Wyatt was last out as the sounds of battle continued unabated outside and they reached the ground-floor and saw that the unit was moving into the heart of the town.

They rushed along the wall to rejoin their squad at the lead of the advance as red bolts now came quickly to hit the RVC troopers moving into the town, methodically clearing each building with the street having a dozen T1-APC's spaced through the central street. Smoke was rising from the outskirts where the tanks were positioned to target hardpoints and enemy counter-attacks. Wyatt saw their squad highlighted in blue on his HUD clearing a three-story apartment building with trees along its front façade and followed closely to rejoin them. There were three members of that squad highlighted in yellow in one place, the sign that they'd been wounded, and he saw them lying on the ground inside the moment the four of them entered the building.

"Friendlies coming in," Wyatt informed them and walked in, seeing two of them with shoulder wounds against the wall and a third with a leg wound lying on the ground with a medic attending to them.

"So far so good," Eva stated as they jogged in and moved to the stairs to rejoin their squad who they could hear firing at enemy troops up above.

"You guys okay?" Mahan asked the wounded troopers.

"Glancing blows Mahan, not bad," the medic responded, "Fekking wusses."

The other troopers laughed in response as the four-man fireteam rushed up the stairs towards the sounds of blaster fire. On the first flight of stairs a black-uniformed Sabaoth soldier was lying against the wall partway up the stairs with blaster wounds in his leg and back with his E-6 left on the landing below him. They reached the second flight were the squad was moving cautiously, all weapons pointed up at where they knew fire was coming from. The green camouflaged troops all opened fire when they saw a black figure pop around the corner and fire towards them and the enemy combatant was riddled with fire and collapsed into the hallway directly in front of the stairs. Two more Sabaoths popped out of doorways and fired as well, and a third man ducked out with a grenade in his hand.

But this was a mistake, blaster fire was already ripping down the hallway and when he did that his kneecap was shattered by a bolt from a DLT-18 gunner. The other two were equally pinned down and ducked back into the rooms they'd been in. The RVC troops knew that they were there and rushed to the hall. But when the fireteam leader of the lead four troopers reached the door where they saw hands raised from the enemy soldiers that were there. Two fully mobile Sabaoths came out with hands raised and a third hobbling on one good leg was dragged out as the squads progressed to the third floor.

"Tank! There's a tank out that window!" Wyatt heard shouting behind him and looked to see Chane pointing at a WLO-5 sitting in an alleyway behind the building with a group of Sabaoths firing in the opposite direction to the left, which hadn't advanced this far quite yet. It was just below them, sitting there, moving back and forth, firing its big cannon when it got a shot.

"Down, stay down!" Yuno immediately ordered, the officer rushing to a plan, "Take position, I want repeaters in the windows! Rockets, here, blast that tank on my order."

Corporal Mahan immediately rushed forward with the fireteam's rocket launcher, and shouldered it and drew a perfect bead on the light tank. The others got to the windows in the apartments the lieutenant gave the order.

"Take 'em!"

"Back-blast clear!"

"Clear!"

"Rocket!"

Mahan stood to his feet and fired the rocket directly at the cockpit and gunner station of the WLO-5, blowing it open from above in a sharp blast of orange and a cloud of smoke as the vehicle dropped to the ground and a secondary explosion blew one of its large engines off. The black-armored enemy infantry were thrown to the side of the alley by the explosion. RVC blue bolts from the windows above poured into them and the group scattered, but there was little that could be done. The original seven that had been down there were whittled quickly to two that made a duck for the destroyed vehicle and were killed when a grenade was tossed in on top of them.

"Cease fire!" the lieutenant yelled, but the bloodlust was real as several continued firing into the smoke, "Cease fire!"

The firing died off as the burning tank's smoke rose up and revealed the bloody work of the impromptu ambush orchestrated quite well by the RVC troopers. Bodies were strewn about, blaster markings were across the ground and wall along with debris from the burning tank. It was a sign of just how deadly this conflict was. Wyatt himself knew this by now.

"Building clear!" the comms lit up, letting them know that they'd done their job.

The sounds of fighting were now dying off as the RVC battalion moved through with near impunity. Their lightning strike had taken the Separatist mercenaries entirely off-guard. When Wyatt walked out he saw that two more columns of thick black smoke were rising from the outskirts of town and while he followed his platoon he saw several more black-armored bodies and a few prisoners being herded to the rear. He came across a burning WLO-5 at the exit to the village that had its right side blow open by a T4-A when it and its three dead passengers had fled the battle.

"That's it? We won?" Eva asked as they walked.

"Like hell we won," Wyatt said as he shook his head.

"Echo Company mount up! We're moving out," the company commander yelled out to the company of troopers as the village fell silent of battle, "Droid columns are moving against us, whole legion's moving to face them."

"Alright, now that's a battle," Wyatt heard someone to his right chuckle.

But Wyatt remained quiet, just like most everyone else as the unit began to pile into their vehicles. The columns of RVC vehicles quickly began moving out along the dirt roads out of the town and towards a crossroads where the droids had to march through to get to them. They had speed on their side, and all knew what they were going to be involved in. Up until now the droid army of the CIS and the volunteer army of the Republic had never faced each other in a major battle. But today they would, on the farmlands of the planet Harrin.

"Okay, additional intel boys and girls, we're ambushing the whole droid column, they're converging on the crossroads we're going to, we're closer and faster, we'll be digging in on a wooded ridge there alongside the battalion and an armored company. We'll hit the droids with everything's we've got," Lieutenant Yuno said to his platoon.

"Shovels…great," Eva sighed.

"What's the matter? Don't like digging?" Wyatt joked with her.

"You're the farmhand Wyatt, no big deal to you," Eva responded.

"I'm not digging the foxhole alone!"

"You're all digging," Sergeant Kael snapped at the two, "You'll need to."

A few long minutes later the squad shook at the T1-APC coming to a halt. The hatch opened and the squad piled out and saw that they had arrived. All of them walked out and they saw that they were in a patch of woods, heavily covered with ferns and soft green leafy trees over their heads. It was pretty good cover.

"Move up, find a patch of good ground and dig in. Fields of fire and camouflage, get it done."

Wyatt and Eva paired up as usual and moved up to a log leaning from its original stump. Breaking out their shovels, each a well-developed, razor sharp broad headed instrument with a weakly vibrating head to aid in them cutting through roots, and began digging in behind it. The three foot trunk provided excellent cover, and the efficient shovels made cutting through the roots relatively easy. Piling the soil to the sides the two began getting to waist level.

"I'll keep this up, why don't you get some branches to cover the foxhole," Wyatt suggested as he took off his helmet, "We'll lay them over the sides, put soil on it, and then ferns and we oughta be good to go."

"Got it," Eva nodded, out of breath as she too ha her helmet off and grasped her shovel to go cut down some thick branches from nearby trees as many others were starting to do.

Tanks began moving up, and their crews began to cut smaller leafy trees' branches and folded them into the netting on their vehicles. The infantry was all over the place, and their APC's were down behind the ridge that overlooked the crossroads three hundred meters away. Wyatt quickly got their foxhole to hip level, digging up the black dirt and depositing it not in the form of a 'L' around them, leaving an entrance for them. Eva returned with an armful of branches and dropped them at the entrance.

"Here we go Wyatt, plenty of them."

"Nice, let's get these on," he suggested and grabbed the biggest one.

Their technique was precise, biggest branches first in the middle. Then smaller ones on the other places as they placed smaller leafy branches on the top. This entirely covered their foxhole to the point they could stand hunched over inside with the broken tree they'd positioned themselves behind acting like the top of a pillbox. The other half of their fireteam also did likewise on the same tree. All of them were now starting to really conceal their positions after an hour of work, and Wyatt kept digging down in their four by eight foot foxhole and piled the dirt on top of the branches, creating a thick layer on top of them that they now began to put ferns on top of to conceal their position. It was a strong fortification, and they all knew it.

Other foxholes were dug to their left and right, with more of them behind for their mortar crews and commanders. The medics had their own holes, and others were quite well camouflaged in the extremely thick underbrush. The low trees also helped their cause, making them appear like they weren't even present. Such was the methodology and tactical mindset of the RVC's forces. Attack strategically, defend tactically, their weapons were best utilized from cover against the droids, which never took cover much anyway, and their forces could blow them away and then exploit their victory with a counter-attack. This was their way of war, and today it would be tested. Now however they were waiting in their holes, eating some rations as the sun began to go down.

"How do you think we'll do?" Eva asked as they waited in cover, sitting with only their heads visible through the slit.

"Think we'll be fine, we're in cover, we've got the tanks, we've got air support, we'll win," Wyatt nodded.

"Think so? I mean, the Clones get overrun all the time," she responded.

"We're not clones, we're RVC remember? We can beat them, we can beat the droids."

"I know, we can, and we'd best or we're in trouble."

"To your holes! To your holes!" the call went out all of a sudden and the two grabbed their helmets.

"Shit," Eva said as she slipped it on and heard the calls going out and saw the red marks on her HUD of the coming enemy columns, "Those are division markings."

"Over forty thousand droids are coming right at us," Wyatt breathed out after he did the math.

"Mark your distances, wait for the order to fire," the orders went out as everyone called out visual ID's on their targets.

A massive convoy of AAT's leading Platoon Attack Craft and MTT's was marching right at them. Amongst the formation were blocks of battle droids, marching in formation right along the roads. Three separate columns, all of them a mass of Separatist firepower also had Heavy Artillery Guns trailing behind. Vulture Droids flew slowly overhead, dozens of them, escorting Hyena Droid Bombers, making this a fully integrated fighting force coming right at them.

"Oh man…" Wyatt groaned as he saw the massive force coming for them.

"Hold firm, we're undetected," Lieutenant Yuno ordered his men and women.

"Wait'll they get a dose of our artillery," Eva smiled as they reached a mile out.

All of a sudden thuds came from behind them, and rockets from their artillery came flying overhead, trailing bluish white smoke as they arched overhead and then angled down at the droid columns.

"Oh here comes the boom."

Explosions ripped into the columns of vehicles, lifting AAT's onto their sides and shattering loaded Platoon Attack Craft. Streams of them impacted the middle elements as they worked their way back and hammered individual vehicles alongside numerous droid blocks, lighting fires and sending smoke and dust into the air as more rockets impacted. The droids were getting devastated, but it was no great hammer blow, just a sudden shock. Then came the RVC artillery, A7V cannons mounted on T4 chassis fired rapidly, and then were followed by the tanks firing as well. Blue energy burst shells flew overhead at a lower angle and began pounding into the armored columns. They could all see that the whole legion's artillery section of twenty-four guns and eighteen missile launchers were present for this battle. Explosions never ceased, blasting away chunks of droids blowing away the entire fronts of vehicles.

But the AAT's were now fighting back, opening fire at them from long range, but the RVC tanks were for the most part hidden in hull-down positions and their slim turrets made it hard to them. But the impacts were very much lethal to the infantry that were near them. Doctrine saved them for the most part, digging in kept them away from the impacts, and their distance kept from the tanks made certain they were safe from anything but direct hits.

"They're deploying droids open fire!" the orders came down and the two young Tanaab natives pulled the triggers of their rifles.

MTT's had pulled off the road and opened up their hatches to deploy their droids within, adding thousands of battle droids to the fight. Now the RVC was giving it everything they had, anti-air speeder tanks were firing into the air, shielding their comrades from the angry droid aircraft above them as more and more enemy droids streamed down the road.

Wyatt laid into his enemies alongside everyone else as battle droids, mostly B1's and B2's with some droidekas now closed the distance. But they were in a massive crossfire from their left flank and their front. Blue and red lasers streamed at their opponents as the battle devolved into an assault on the dug in RVC legion. Wyatt saw red lasers striking his cover alongside Eva and rockets hammering into the trees. But that did no damage to them, but they had one issue, enemy HAG's now began hammering at them, and red blasts began striking their positions around RVC lines.

As they fired quickly, seeing droid after droid dropping and yet still the vast droid army advanced steadily. An explosion detonated the ground in front of Wyatt's position and hammered them with a concussion that dropped their roof down on top of the two troopers, coating them with dirt from above.

"Eva you okay?!" Wyatt responded, pushing the sticks off of him and pushed away the dirt.

"I'm fine, keep shooting!"

"Wyatt, Eva! You two okay?"

"Fine!"

"Keep shooting we gotta-," the fireteam leader started but stopped.

Another explosion is what cut him off and the tree that Eva and Wyatt were shooting under lifted up and then dropped to the right. Both looked at each other and knew something was wrong. Wyatt was first out, and moved to see that the whole tree section in front of their comrades' foxhole was burnt and shattered and the two camouflaged troopers were motionless beneath their caved-in roof. Wyatt was first to get there crawling as the battle continued around them. He reached in and grasped onto Corporal Mahan's armor and pulled the man free. He was hesitant when he saw the blackened front of the man's helmet and the cracks along his armored chest and the absent shoulder pad.

"Medic! Medic!" Wyatt yelled, and saw that one of their company's medics was rushing over, and slid down next to him.

"He's gone!" Eva yelled as she pulled PFC Chane from the wrecked fighting hole.

"Chane?!" Wyatt yelled in surprise.

"Hey, hey!" the medic yelled once he had triaged the wounded corporal and marked him with a red spray canister on his armor to visually mark his state, "I need your help, get him to the rear!"

"Medic!" another call went out.

The medic looked out, and turned to Wyatt, "You two! Get him to medivac!"

At that moment Lieutenant Yuno slid in next to them.

"Who's hit?!"

"Corporal Mahan is red sir, Chane's…Chane's gone," Wyatt responded.

"Why were they together in the same hole?! Dammit we told you, gunner and leader are never in the same hole!" the man yelled, seeing that neither Eva or Wyatt had a repeating blaster. It was something that had been overlooked in the past, but now in the heat of battle they both understood why, but too late, "Get him to medical!"

"Yes sir!" Wyatt replied in a dejected manner but he and Eva quickly grabbed an armpit and started to drag Corporal Chane out of the front and through the brush.

The two stayed as low as possible, skirting along the ground with knees just above the ground. Red bolts zipped over their heads as they moved quickly and other troopers opened fire from their own fighting holes and they passed two bodies of comrades within their own holes, casualties of direct strikes from artillery. Leaves fell around them and they knew that this forest was sure not going to be a very easy battle like the last one was. A pair of medics met them as they passed a tank and got into the rear.

"We got him go!"

Wyatt tapped Eva who was still on her knees looking down at Mahan, and Wyatt grabbed her by the arm and two rushed back to their position as another explosion went off a few dozen meters away. They sprinted forward, but an AAT's main gun blasted a tree next to Wyatt and the concussion blew him off his feet like he'd been yanked by the back his armor.

"Wyatt you okay?!" Eva yelled as she slid down next to him.

"I'm good, I'm good!"

The two got back and up and passed a mortar pit firing off shells rapidly, sending their explosives right at the droids who had closed to within six hundred meters but were still coming on strong, but with far fewer vehicles in support. A tank far to the left was struck by a shell and caught fire and its crew pulled it back with the right barrel and housing entirely gone.

"I'm gonna grab Chane's DTL!" Eva suggested as she rushed forward. And dove down next to the wrecked hole.

She saw the twisted mangled barrel and knew it was useless now. So she returned to Wyatt and looked back up to see the droids still coming strong. Wyatt was firing his grenades into the formations as mortars also added to the numerous explosions tearing the loose lines apart. But the AAT's were closing, and were getting ripped apart, catching fire and their lower wings went up in devastating explosions as the torpedoes housed in there went off. MTT's were now useless hunks of junk along with the Platoon Attack Crafts in the rear as another missile barrage devastated the artillery tanks in the far rear of the Separatist lines.

"Chane's gun's gone too," she sighed in defeat as Wyatt noticed her still firing with her A280.

"Alright keep firing!" Wyatt replied without looking.

As many of them continued fighting they noticed the droids were starting to halt, and then explosions began wrecking through the back of the enemy formation. Then they turned around, and started running. Wyatt stopped firing for a second before he noticed what was happening and then in joy reached up and laid into his fully automatic setting and opened up but his rifle stopped as its power pack went dry. He went to replace it but as he did so the call to cease fire went out, right after that something amazing happened. White and red dots sliced through the droids and they all realized what they were.

Speeder bike-mounted Anaxes Knights zipped through the formations with long energy lances in hand and cut apart hundreds of droids and cut open vehicles left and right. Their LB-55 Speeder Bikes were superbly designed for this work, with a solid build of powerful propulsion engines supporting their backs in their upright seats. It ended with a point with a thin triangular wedge of hardened durasteel. The Knights held their shields and Lances in hand, their shields protecting them by being strapped to their arms to free their hands to control their bikes.

They'd trained all their lives in this art of combat, some of them training select units of clone troopers to mimic this style. But no one could lance like Anaxes Knights could. The Knights of the 1st Volunteer Legion rode into battle, led by Captain Kayle Titus. His first opponent to meet his lance was an AAT backing away, turning its turret to face him, but he cut its rear, slicing through its power generators and rear hatch causing the tank to drop to the ground and keel over onto the back of its turret. He followed it with a line of B1's turning to fire at him and cut all of them in half with complete impunity. Changing target as he flew through the battlefield his lance cut through the forward end of another tank, destroying its forward repulsor and the nose of the tank to drop down as another Knight behind him through its torpedoes which detonated behind them.

"Hit the artillery!" he ordered as he aimed for the lines of enemy HAG's trying to escape to the countryside.

"We're behind you sir!" another Knight responded as a few others followed behind.

He aimed his lance at the nearest one, and as he closed with the vehicle at an enormous velocity his white hot lance cut through other droids that were straggling along at the rear, trying to protect the artillery now fleeing the battle. Titus now cut a lethal gash across the whole right side of the HAG he passed in the blink of an eye and the vehicle blew apart and dropped to the ground, its gun still pointed up. All of them were soon getting gashed and knocked out by the Anaxes Knights, who systematically took the remaining Separatist vehicles apart. It was an incredibly one-sided slaughter, the droids being unable to track the speeders on which the Knights rode.

But Titus wasn't done, he saw a hill in the rear of the Separatist lines, and a command center on it with droids all around it along with a pair of AAT's. He lifted his lance and pointed it at the command center and zipped forward, followed by several others. He himself halted his speeder and the others flew by, and cut open and disabled the AAT's and the handful of droids rushed at him. Dismounting the young Knight drew his sword and charged. The droids opened fire and he lifted his shield, the songsteel absorbing the shots with ease.

He approached them and sliced the head off a droid to his left and brought his sword back and cut another B1 in half at the hip. A B2 closed with him as he continued sprinting and ducked under it, and smacked its more vulnerable center with his shield and rocked it back. With another movement he jumped off a rock and stabbed it through and continued to sprint forward. Three B1's attacked him with a B2 behind. He cut the arms off another one, as the others surrounded him and ducked and cut the first one's chest open and tossed the disable junk at the second one with his shield and then split open the head of the third one from below as he spun around. Without much else being done he rushed at another line of droids.

This time there were four B1's rushing him and two B2's. Approaching the command center he sliced the first apart with little difficulty as he brought his shield up again and smacked the next three B1's without issue and approached the two guarding super battle droids who towered over him. They knew what to do, and fired quickly. Flanking to the right he held his shield in his left hand and blocked the fire as he now lined them up and jumped onto the side of the circular command center and stabbed through the head of the droid's head. As he came he ducked under the attacking swing from the second droid and cut the droid in half with another swing. He saw now that the tactical droid above him was scrambling down to grab a blaster rifle, but Titus cut him off, and sliced the legs off of the droid and it dropped down, followed swiftly by its head being sliced clean off.

With this final droid gone he walked up to the top of the command center and looked out over the battlefield. It was a scene of victory, smoke, fire, wreckage, and destroyed droids littered the fields and smoke rose from the woods where RVC vehicles had succumbed. He saw the grunts of the 3rd Legion marching out and finishing off the half-disable droids along with vehicles from his own legion driving through, moving through the embattled 3rd to press on towards the capital. It was worth the victory, glory was theirs, and nothing could stop them now. They'd taken the best this droid garrison could throw at them and blew it away. The design of their forces had proven its worth and as did their own men and women, they did well, they'd survived.

 **Wow, eight thousand words. Guess I gave you your money's worth huh? Quite the battle scene, I'm pretty proud of all three of them here. There's more to come for sure.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The push continues, but it won't be as easy as this.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Another chapter, really excited about this one guys, I'm actually really starting to form a plan of just how important to the overall Clone Wars this force has become. I'll give some additional explanation in the next chapter as to the strategic impact the RVC is having.**

Chapter 8

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk, in orbit over Yag'Dhul

"So far our forces have secured their immediate objectives," Commander Vay informed Admiral Drexel, "The Harrin system has been secured in space and droid ground forces have been routed and destroyed."

"Excellent," Admiral Drexel responded, "We should be able to begin fortifying Yag'Dhul shortly."

"I've secured six V-150's from KDY, those ion cannons should be able to keep the planet properly defended," his chief of supply responded, "Add that to some XX-9 turbolaser towers and the inevitable legion of troopers guarding the cannons and power generators and we'll be in great shape."

"How long?" Drexel asked.

"It'll take at least a month, we've been gathering the materials and equipment for some time and we have KDY crews to install everything, planning this has helped."

"Excellent, tell the convoys to get going, we need to push the Separatists even harder to keep the pressure on," Drexel ordered, and pulled up the local sector map, this showed a series of planets with several squadrons of Separatist ships in orbit, "Launch squadrons of starfighters to destroy as much as they can. We have momentum, let's keep it."

"Aye sir," Commander Vay responded.

"Excellent news Admiral," a voice piped up, this one belonging to Captain Sizer, the RVC's primary public relations officer, "Our recruitment offices are reporting massive influxes in their doors."

"More recruits, excellent," Admiral Drexel nodded, "Any numbers?"

"Preliminary…about eighty thousand on Coruscant's district six," Sizer replied, "Kuat and Anaxes have also reported quite a lot of recruits walking in to volunteer, same with Corellia, Eriadu, and Rendili."

"Speaking of Rendili, you have a request for contact from Rendili," Commander Vay said.

"I knew they couldn't hold out from joining in, KDY, CEC, and Incom have already hardened their reputation, couldn't let their Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers go without representation," Drexel laughed, "I'll take the call now. Get the next phase underway."

"Aye sir," Vay said with a salute.

Drexel returned the salute and walked to the communications room, where he ordered the call to Rendili, who he knew was waiting for him to contact them.

"Admiral Drexel," the answer came almost immediately from the head of Rendili StarDrive, Bengila Urlan, who in effect controlled Rendili as a whole, "I see Kuat's doing just fine?"

"Indeed we are, I hear you want your piece of the glory Mr. Urlan?" Drexel asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Urlan replied, "I have had my engineers coming up with a couple designs for your new fleet. We've noticed your designs don't necessarily fill some necessary roles."

"Oh really?" Drexel asked, ignoring the shot at KDY.

"We've got a design for your heavy cruiser role and a design for an escort corvette," Urlan stated.

"A heavy cruiser? You wanting your Dreadnought Class in RVC red?"

"No, no, no, no Admiral, I said a new design, we call it the Assault Frigate Split-Bow, a heavy hitting warhorse built from some of our Dreadnought parts," an image appeared on the holotable, and Admiral Drexel was shown a clean design, "It cuts down on costs but retains our company's reputation for hard hitting firepower."

The ship had fins above and below the engine nacelle connected with a spine to a Dreadnought-like head and two prongs coming off the chin and splitting away like a KDY design Drexel knew of.

"This looks an awful lot like another design of KDY's Mr. Urlan…" Drexel mused.

"I must say your insinuation is quite insulting, but for the sake of the war effort I'll let it slide," Urlan shrugged, knowing that they wouldn't say no.

"As will I," Drexel smirked, "Now you said you had another design, an escort Corvette."

"You remember when KDY wasn't the king of warship design for the Republic? Well, we haven't," Urlan proudly declared, "Taking direct inspiration from the Hammerhead Cruisers of old, we have created this, the Hammerhead Corvette. The beauty of this ship is its heritage and small crew, fifteen crewmen and three officers."

"Well…a Hammerhead? That kind of design hasn't seen use in…two thousand years."

"It is only right they return to the battlefield now."

"Well, if you can get us a enough ships we'll use them," Drexel nodded.

"Just what I had hoped to hear Admiral," Urlan grinned.

"Very well, I assume you don't want your own heavy cruisers joining us?"

"No, the government doesn't want our Home Defense Fleet straying as far as your operations would take them."

"Well, I expect that your new ships will be ready soon, we have a lot of new recruits and we need ships to pair them with," Drexel directed.

"Of course, Rendili StarDrives always lives up to the standard."

With that the transmission ended and he smirked at the new victory that this had brought to the RVC and Republic as a whole. When the RVC had originally been conceived Rendili had been absent, refusing to take part. But now they had come to the belief that the glory from their struggle was too much to let their competitors, Corellian Engineering Corporation, Incom Corporation, and Kuat Drive Yards, take all to themselves. So they'd put their best foot forward to show that they too were patriotic and willing to perform their role in the fight underway.

Location: University of Commenor, Planet Commenor

"And so the distinctive characteristic of struggle is the yearning of life's great and never-ending quest for advantage. It can always be disguised as a noble cause, it can always be made something that it really isn't. But for the exam remember one thing, struggle, and by extent conflict is the quest for winning advantage to make life easier and try and guarantee it for the victor," Professor Allan Challis stated matter-of-factly to his anthropology class but saw a hand raised before he could dismiss class, "Yes one question."

"If all struggle is inherently for power and guaranteeing life where is the struggle for those two things in this current war?" the young student asked.

"The answer to that is rather simple, from all I have learned from friends on both sides, is that the Republic wishes to retain its control over the galaxy, plain and simple. The Separatists want to gain more local independence and rid themselves of the controlling force that is the Republic as they see it. But, they are being used, used by a Dark Lord of the Sith to further his own selfish evil aims. As we all know no living being would truly believe in the kind of violence perpetrated by the droid armies."

It was classic academic bluster he knew, but he had to say so, his new commission depended on it. Commenor had need for serving officers, and his own number had been called. It was optional of course, but not many people who had served their draftee service had the intellect he did. Most people of officer caliber stayed on to form careers, but those with careers were quite few to Commenor. So, he'd been asked by an old friend to enlist with him in the Republic Volunteer Corps and Commenor would give him a commission. Truth be told on this particular campus he hadn't been particularly well-liked, seeing as the University had a very unpopular position of being against the war. This would separate him from the school and possibly help the school at the same time.

After dismissing the class for the last time he got to his speeder and drove home, as he walked through he saw that his wife was sitting there. He took off his professor's robes and ran a hand over his beard. Challis knew that tonight he would have to tell his wife, just so long as his new uniform had not been delivered before he arrived home. However seeing it laid out on the couch in the living room he knew the gig was up.

"You're going aren't you?" the soft voice of his wife Cyllia asked from the kitchen.

"You…found it huh?"

"Came earlier, just after lunch," she responded, walking out her eyes not leaving the red and black uniform with the metal rank insignia and command tubes with red tips.

"Are you mad?" Challis asked.

"Mad? No, I'm rather furious dear," Cyllia responded with her hands on her hips, "How could you not have trusted me enough to not say anything?"

"I didn't want you worrying darling," he tried responding.

"And this…this is better? Just deciding one day that you'd go off to war?"

"They need serving officers," Challis replied, "Anaxes, Carida, and Coruscant have already provided more than five hundred thousand troops and officers."

"And I'm sure that now you must be part of Commenor doing its part!" she sighed irritably, trying to keep her emotions in check, "So go on, go off and get your glory and adventure," she continued, now tears beginning to form in her eyes, "Maybe get yourself killed…" she finished, nearly sobbing.

"Cyllia…" he tried to start and placed his hands on her shoulders, "You've always supported me and I've always been thankful, but I'm asking one more time."

She turned around and looked to him with a smile and tears on her cheeks, "You're my husband and I will always support you. Just promise me that you'll come back."

Despite knowing that in war this was not necessarily within in his power to do so, he knew he had to say so, "I'll come home, I promise."

"Thank you…"

Location: Bridge over the Axii River, Planet Harrin

The rainy season hadn't been anticipated to be an issue. On a holotable to a general it wasn't, but to a pair of PFC's sitting in a foxhole guarding a slight hill near the one bridge leading to the capital. Wyatt and Eva were the only ones in the forward foxhole for the company. This foxhole was a better one than the one they'd had a few days ago. They'd seen a few skirmishes over the past few days, but nothing like what was now known as The Crossroads Ambush.

They hadn't had any replacements yet, and they'd been paired with another pair of battle buddies who had also lost half their fireteam. But unlike them they hadn't lost their fireteam leader. But Eva did have to take on a DLT-18 with their fireteam not having one. So they'd dug in until the 2nd Legion could bring up the flank, this foxhole was similar to their last one and had a lot of camouflage up on top, but the rain kept dripping in drop by drop on Wyatt's knee as they both sat there waiting and keeping an eye out for the Separatists. They poked at their rations, trying to eat and keep an eye out.

"You can see it from here, the capital," Wyatt mumbled.

"Take that and it'll be over…" Eva smirked, "At least we've got some hot grub."

"At least this planet," Wyatt sighed.

"Then the next and the next," Eva mused and took another bite.

That fact got both of them just quietly contemplating just what they were in for. They were in this for the long haul, and after their first taste of war on the frontlines they truly knew just the kind of hardships they were in for. They were sitting in a foxhole in three inches of water and mud with more rain coming down and the threat of an attack looming over their heads at every waking moment. A few splashes coming from behind them and they knew they were being visited by their platoon leader, Lieutenant Yuno.

"How you two holding up?" the older officer asked the two as he sat down at the entrance to the foxhole, a hand on the overhead branches of their cover.

"Okay sir," Wyatt replied quickly, giving a quick salute in the cramped hole.

"Just got the word, Mahan's gonna be okay, they're sending him home."

"And Chane?"

"They're sending his body back as well along with Deeks and Pyke," Yuno said, "We lost them too."

"That's five casualties in the platoon."

"The rest of the company didn't do much better, twenty in total," Yuno nodded, "Keep an eye out kids, get some sleep. One at a time, three hour shifts."

"Yes sir," Eva replied as Yuno got up and continued along.

"Fine, fine, let's finish eating," he said in response, "I'll take first watch."

As they quickly ate Wyatt kept a look out, remembering that their training had prepared them somewhat for these long nights of frontline watch. The whole legion was behind him, but no one was in front of him, no one but droids. And droids didn't need sleep.

"Alright, I'm getting to sleep, wake me if there's anything," Eva yawned, the toll of the past few days weighing heavy on her.

But sleep still came with no small amount difficulty. She covered her face in her plastic rain jacket, and leaned against the dirt wall of the foxhole as Wyatt slipped his helmet on and brought the DLT-18 over to him. The weapon felt foreign to him, as he was used to his grenadier A280 was his baby, but this larger weapon pointing at the open road before them was odd. No one saw anything, as there weren't any red dots signifying potentially hostile enemy droids. But one dot appeared as he waited and he pointed the blaster at it. It hadn't been him who'd done it, but it was noticed.

"What is it?" Wyatt asked, looking through the night vision at the terrain and the rain.

"Saw something moving in night vision," came the response of Corporal Hilix of third squad.

"Wyatt, Eva, you're closest, check it out," his squad leader ordered.

"Roger that," Wyatt sighed, and tapped Eva, who stirred slightly, "Something's out there, come on."

"Are you kidding me?" the blonde groaned as she rubbed her eyes under the raincoat.

"Nope, get up, you can go back to sleep when we figure out what may or may not be there," Wyatt said with a grumble himself.

She threw off the raincoat and slipped her helmet on and the two grabbed their blasters and left their foxhole and began slowly approaching the red dot. It was in a ditch at the road where it turned to follow the river. The two knew that there could have been something there, and if that was the case they could easily be cut down.

"Easy," Lieutenant Yuno advised the two troopers who began creeping forward, blasters at the ready.

"See anything?" Eva asked once they got to the first ditch.

"Nah, nothin'," Wyatt responded shaking his head, "Check the…wait a second…"

He jumped down into the ditch and saw that the water inside was muddied up. Something had been there. Wyatt pointed at it and then motioned that he was moving towards what could have been the source. The two carefully tracked the muddy water and watched carefully for any sign of hostiles. He saw bootprints in the muck by now, but they weren't all that big he noticed.

"Hey!" Eva yelled as he looked down to measure his foot against one of the prints.

He looked up to see her pointing her weapon at a shape around the corner. And Wyatt did likewise. He saw immediately that it wasn't a droid. This was a person, and he trained his blaster rifle on their shape as they refused to show themselves.

"Come out! We will fire!"

The two troopers saw two more shapes, heads, pop over the road lip. He caught sight of them so clearly that he could point out their hoods on their jackets. Both of them moved closer and the three people that were there panicked. The furthest to the left leapt up, arms in the air and revealed that it was just a child. The other two did likewise, the youngest and smallest shaking their bare hands in fear.

"It's okay, come on out of there," Eva ordered the children and they hesitantly obeyed.

Each was wearing a set of clothes that could be described as well-worn and possibly hand-me-down in origin. These were no city-kids, Wyatt sighed as he saw the familiar sight of farm children.

"Eltee, they're kids sir," Wyatt said calmly, "We're bringing them in."

"Very well, don't want to be letting these kids just running loose out there," the lieutenant said calmly.

"Come on, it's okay," Eva gently said to them.

"You-you won't hurt us?" the oldest of the children, no more than ten years old, asked quietly.

"No, of course not," Eva responded, and reached up with one hand and lifted her hand to her helmet and removed it, showing them that she was a flesh and blood, and not a Clone.

"We're people just like you," Wyatt assured them, "Come on, you're going back with us, and we'll take you home in the morning. It's dangerous right now."

They shepherded the three children back to their lines, keenly aware of the danger they faced. But they knew these children were both a risk and a charge to protect. They had no clue if these children were spies for the enemy or just curious, but the key to survival was being careful. That was the lesson that the two of them had learned. But that didn't mean that they were being careful enough. Red blaster bolts from the opposite line of woods let them know that immediately upon returning to their lines.

"Droids incoming!"

All of the RVC troopers jumped into their cover and immediately opened fire on the distant droid lines as out came battle droids led by two lines of super battle droids as a battalion of five hundred battle droids marched at them. The children were thrown into a foxhole in the rear as the mortar teams swung into action and Eva and Wyatt looked out from their foxhole and opened fire. Blue bolts slammed into the droid ranks and they saw them falling one by one at first and then began to be carved asunder as explosions ripped into their ranks.

Then the sounds of heavy thuds come in as well, and the trees were parted as OG-9 Homing Spider Droids broke through. The tall droid walkers fired their beam lasers at the RVC positions and their heavy lasers blasted away. Wyatt knew that their own tanks were on the other side of the river and that they were not ready. But Lieutenant Yuno was already calling in artillery strikes. The rounds came in fast and hot, and the glowing blue explosive rounds blew apart the heavy droid walkers.

While Eva and Wyatt fired away there was a tree cut at its base from a spider droid's beam. It creaked and groaned, and fell right on top of them, crushing their foxhole's covering roof.

"Eva!" Wyatt said as he fought to move but really couldn't, shaking away the hazy feeling of being hit with the weight of the tree crashing down on them, "Eva you okay?"

"I can't move!" she responded from next to him, but all they could see were the dirt, branches, and leaves right in their visors.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Yuno yelled to the platoon, as that was all that was on this side of the river.

The unit of troopers ran as fast as they could back to their lines across the bridge as another wave of droids stared advancing. But in their rush to evacuate the north bank, Eva and Wyatt found themselves forgotten and left behind. The droid waves advanced towards them, and both heard the clanking of the droids approaching them. The ground shook as the artillery now shifted to their own position, pounding the droids that took up positions in their own, guarding the opposite shore.

"We gotta get out of here!" Eva shouted quickly as she frantically tried pushing through the tree on top of them.

"No, stay down the artillery's about to come right down on top of us, and stay quiet. The droids will pick up our comms," Wyatt said and grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

As he did that he heard a the sound of thuds and a screeching from their missile batteries aiming right for them greeted their ears.

"I hope you're right!" Eva yelled back as she ducked into the lowest part of their foxhole.

"Me too…"

The ground shook as dozens of explosions pulverized the ground and the droids around them, some were very close, shredding and coating their tree-covered hole in dirt and debris. They had no way to tell how many droids were above them. But there weren't going to be very many in a moment. Hopefully they would still be there. After a bit the bombardment stopped and the droids halted, but they were right on top of them. The enemy was still there but the two troopers didn't know, they'd fallen unconscious, ears ringing, armor battered, and bodies unable to cope with the pounding.

Droids now patrolled the former positions of the RVC troopers. They searched the foxholes one by one, but when they came to the foxhole where the two young Tanaab troopers were laying still. A pair of B2 lifted the larger splintered trunk from their cover and the two troopers, half covered in leaves and branches and dirt, were unveiled. The droids examined them, and when a tactical droid saw the two troopers it decided that they were better use to them as prisoners.

"Take them to the capitol," the droid ordered, and both troopers were clamped in restraints and dragged to the rear through the field of destroyed droids.

A speeder met the two super battle droids there and they were thrown inside. From there they were driven to the capitol, at a base just outside the city. Watching this speeder was a careful set of eyes from the sensors of the RVC Star Destroyer Conviction, and ready to mobilize for rescue were the best the RVC had to muster, the Caridan Commandos.

 **Well it was a shorter one, but a fun one to write. Hope you all enjoyed, as usual let me know your thoughts and I'll address anything that I can.**

 **I am also thinking of starting a new Star Wars fic about a small New Republic garrison versus a larger but still small Imperial force, a bit more personal of a story, focused on characters and a game of cat and mouse. What do you guys think of that?**

 **Next Chapter Preview: A rescue is in order, and the starfighters now take the offensive once again.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I am going to choose to have the RVC's bomber squadrons use the BTL-A4 Y-Wing from now on. I like it as a strike bomber, and it'll see good use with the RVC. If you are unfamiliar with what it looks like google "BTL-A4 Y-Wing hull plating" and you should find the same Y-Wing the Rebels use but with its hull plating. It's a different variant of the same family of starfighters that the GAR used, and it ended up having the longer lifespan in the context of this fanfic.**

Chapter 9

Location: Jedi Cruiser, Resolute

The Jedi Council had declared an emergency strategic meeting within the briefing room that had come to find use as the place where the senior Jedi Generals decided matters of strategy. Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi were currently finishing their mission for the Council in delivering Jabba's son to him, right in the nick of time. Also standing there next to her new master was Ahsoka Tano, brand new and witnessing her first strategy briefing as per Anakin's suggestion.

"You asked for us Master Windu?" Obi Wan asked as the transmission came through, go-figure they were last.

"Yes Master Kenobi," Windu started and nodded to Anakin and Ahsoka, acknowledging their efforts in garnering Jabba's favor was warranted, "Well done Master Skywalker and you as well Padawan Tano."

"Thank you master," both of the younger individuals responded with a slight bow.

"Now, on to the urgent matter at hand," Windu started and the holomap table of the Resolute lit up and they saw the Yag'Dhul sector of the galaxy show up in front of them, "We have just received confirmation of a powerful hammerblow against the enemy. But it was not launched by us, it was launched by the Republic Volunteer Corps against what we believe to be the strategic reserve of the Separatists' 15th Task Group at Yag'Dhul. Holonet reports and our own intelligence have confirmed that three hundred enemy ships have been destroyed there and as a consequence we destroyed another two hundred and fifty more. But as that happened, the RVC attacked Mechis, and then bombarded the factories from orbit."

"An orbital bombardment?" Kenobi asked in complete surprise.

"Yes, effective it was, but caused great ripples among the local peoples of that sector it has," Master Yoda stated firmly, "Frightened they are of the Republic's wrath."

"This is not how the Republic wants to deal with the Separatists," Windu continued, "While we understand that the RVC did what it did for the sake of their own troops the people of galaxy are nonetheless frightened. Especially after footage of their engagement on Harrin was broadcasted over the Holonet."

"I saw," Anakin nodded.

"They wiped out an entire army," Ahsoka remembered, her young mind still in a state of wonderment as such things, not having been involved in a battle like that one, "It was amazing."

"Ahem," Anakin coughed at her.

"For now the Republic Volunteer Corps will continue its advance, so long as they refrain from another orbital bombardment, if they even start to do one with their dreadnought the results against a population center could be tragic," Windu stated, extremely firm in that assertion.

"A dreadnought? I thought that the dreadnoughts weren't allowed outside of the Core?" Ahsoka asked.

"Theirs is the only one to see action thus far," Kenobi nodded, "And so far its effectiveness has certainly put a fire under the feet of the Navy to deploy the others."

"I doubt that the politicians will allow such a thing," Ki Adi Mundi said sourly.

"Many political leaders have thrown their weight behind bringing the RVC into the full Republic Military," Kit Fisto said quickly.

"I doubt that we have enough Jedi to allow ourselves to be stretched amongst both the RVC and the Clone Army," Anakin sighed.

"But it seems that the RVC is doing just fine on its own, whereas we're struggling," Kenobi responded, "Perhaps it would be best we stayed with the Clones, the RVC's officers are trained for war, we're trained for peace. They might not even like having Jedi generals."

"Have a leader they do, Admiral Drexel, led them well he has. Continue to lead them he will wish," Yoda decided, "If wish to have a Jedi they do, try we must, but not necessary it is."

The other Jedi agreed, it was a calculated gamble. The Jedi themselves were not on par with the experienced officers of the RVC's established career personnel. But the Clones were much superior to the RVC's troops, so they gave the Jedi some wiggle room to learn the ways of war and the Clones were far more numerous than the RVC thus far, but they had no idea if that could change soon.

Location: CIS Naval Headquarters, Planet Raxus Secundus

A Separatist strategic meeting on the planet Raxus Secundus was going on and had taken a worrying turn. The assembled officers, a variety of different species and ranks were looking through the different situations that their meeting were going over, but the offensive in the Bestine system had effectively ground to a complete halt. The circumstances of this and consequences were entirely unforeseen and the casualty figures had exceeded their estimates. Mechis had been lost, and Yag'Dhul now under the Republic's control. But worse still were the material losses Separatist forces had incurred.

"We've lost the entirety of the 15th Task Group, nearly six hundred ships, our entire fleet in that sector," the commander of that area of space, Admiral Siik, stated firmly, "My forces are severely depleted, and Republic forces are continuing their offensive down the Corellian Trade Spire."

"Holonet transmissions across Republic space are broadcasting Republic victories from this, Republic Volunteer Corps, it is giving them a massive moral boost we can't afford to give them," another officer stated, and then General Grievous himself through a holo-transmission from his place overseeing the construction of the Malevolence.

"Your concern matters little," the cyborg firmly stated, "We will soon have a ship that will wipe the Jedi Fleet from the galaxy."

"We know that your new flagship is almost complete General, but for those of us who don't have such weapons at our disposal what do you suggest we do?" Admiral Siik responded testily.

"Prepare a counter-attack, Yag'Dhul must be retaken," Grievous ordered them.

"I have no ships to spare General, a third of my forces were cut off and destroyed, half of what forces I have left are being held in place at Eriadu protecting Sullust and the other half are scattered trying to protect the rest of our territory and are taking losses. RVC starfighters are launching massive attacks throughout the sector, they're damaging and destroying isolated ships and squadrons, forcing us to deploy our reserves to keep force strengths up enough to keep them from attacking en masse."

"You have allowed the Republic to take operational control of your sector. I will send additional forces to ensure your success," Grievous replied, "A Task Group from our new shipyards in deep space should suffice."

"How long will it take for those forces to reach me General?"

"Within the week, soon you will have another six hundred ships to destroy these Republic upstarts. Their run of good fortune will soon be at an end."

Location: Orbit of the Planet Vogel

Things had been quiet for the isolated CIS naval squadron of eighteen ships. The twelve Munificent Class Star Frigates and six Resucant Class Light Destroyers were a token force, but it had been calculated that the force was all that was needed for the moment. That previous belief and the lack of priority on its reinforcement would soon cost it dearly. The ships sat in orbit, on their normal stationary routine until a mix of ten squadrons of T-42 F-Wings and five squadrons of BTL-A4 Y-Wings dropped out of hyperspace. In total a hundred and eighty starfighters were attacking the fleet, among them was Flight Lieutenant Teela Abya in the cockpit of her reliable F-Wing with four Vulture Droid emblems painted onto her starfighter below her cockpit.

"All fighters let's clean house, Y-Wings ion cannons to full charge, accelerate to attack speed!"

Teela heard everyone acknowledge the order and pushed the fighter to its combat speed, flying at the large enemy ships as she saw the first enemy starfighters start to deploy. But she saw that they were too late, the starfighters had dropped almost on top of the droid ships. She saw the swarm of RVC starfighters launch themselves into the fray, tangling with deploying flights of Vulture droids and opened fire.

"Silver Eight deploying Vultures ahead!" her wingman called out as she banked hard around the nose of a frigate that they had just strafed.

"On me Silver Nine!" she said as she flew towards the ending stream of droid starfighters which ended right as they dove in behind them, "Take 'em!"

She locked on with concussion missiles, and loosed a rippling fire of six missiles that streaked into the rear of their targets and exploded. Teela laid into her trigger and blue bolts smashed into two more Vulture Droids while another four missiles smashed from her wingman smashed another four fighters. Both laid into the horde of fighters and the Vultures fell one after the other as other F-Wings joined the fray. She chased a trio of droid fighters and shot one to pieces when they tried getting in behind some Y-Wings that obliterated the hangar bay of a Recusant-Class Light Destroyer and set off secondary explosions that cut the ship in half.

"The bomber boys are doing work!" she smiled as she continued the chase and fired again at close range and destroyed the last two Vulture Droids as they tried to evade her.

She saw four Y-Wings hit a frigate with a volley of ion cannon blasts that sent green and red energy fields spreading and shorting out the ship, disabling it in every way. The craft spun lazily on its axis as fighters avoided hitting it and she knew it was now a viable target.

"Silver Nine, that frigate's disabled, I wouldn't mind a frigate on my scorecard how about you?"

"I'll cover you!" the man said and fell in behind her to cover her attack run.

Flooring the accelerator she readied her single proton torpedo tube and prepared to fire right into the bridge. She once more fired her lasers into the ship, aiming at the blinking green bridge glass, and shattered it immediately and fired blew out of it.

"Torpedoes away!" she sang out and loosed two powerful proton torpedoes.

They struck home, penetrating through the weak walls leading into the guts of the ship. There, they exploded and the whole of the front end of the ship started to detonate as she fired into the tensor field generators with her lasers all along the spine, blowing apart the ship along the entire length of the ship. As she passed it the ship blew apart slowly, splintering in a wave of fire and debris. Satisfied a great deal with her biggest kill yet she saw that the other capital ships were being heavily bombed after they were all disabled and their droid fighters inside were consequently also disabled.

"Nice kill Silver Eight," her squadron leader noted, "But leave the ships to the bombers stay on the fighters."

"Roger Silver Leader."

The two F-Wings swung around to avoid an exploding frigate and in behind another pair of F-Wings from their own squadron and then ran headlong into a group of Vulture Droids that fired on them the moment they came into headlong contact. The group opened fire and three of the Vultures exploded immediately and Teela saw the leading two Silver Squadron fighters explode as well.

"Silver Four and Five are gone!" she immediately yelled in fury and turned around hard and tracked the remaining nine fighters and locked on, "Die fekkers!"

She loosed her remaining six concussion missiles. The excellent projectiles struck home, blowing apart individual fighters and leaving the last three to her alone. Without thought she fired into them from long range and blew one apart almost immediately and the remaining pair split up and her wingman took the other one and pursued it. She trailed the second Vulture Droid and opened fire, missing at first and the Vulture Droid dove to lose her through a debris field from a collision of two light destroyers. The fighter spun around the debris and she chased through the field and fired again. The droid then took a sharp turn as it fled further into the remnants of the fleet that was now nothing but destroyed hulks. Teela let loose one final shot that struck the droid and sent it cartwheeling into the side of a frigate's shattered wing.

"All fighters! Prepare to make the jump! Hostile reinforcements have entered the system," the attack force commander called out.

"Silver Squadron, break and jump!"

"Silver Eight acknowledged," Teela said, and her wingman joined her as they pulled away from the exploding field of debris as she looked to see a larger force of thirty Separatist ships coming around the horizon of the large blue gas giant.

"Helluva job Silver Eight!" Silver Nine whooped as the large strike force joined into formation and began jumping away.

"Those buckets all deserve scrapping!" she snapped, fuming at the loss of two friends.

"Well you did the best out of any of us kid, nineteen kills, not too shabby," the squadron commander said as the F-Wings jumped away, "Makes your total twenty-three right?"

"And a frigate," she added as well, decompressing from the mission, "How many did we lose?"

"Hood and Winx were it, coulda been worse gang. The Y-Wings disabled most of their fighters before they could launch."

She sighed in relief, their squadron had already lost two of their number, meaning their squadron of twelve was down to eight. A third of their strength was gone, theirs was among the worst hit in the Dauntless air group. Rumors and scuttlebutt of entire squadrons wiped out from other ships in Task Force Six abounded of course, as they always did. However they knew very well what their role was and how dangerous their duty was. They didn't complain, but mourning was indeed something that they would do in private. Their kill counts and pilot bravado lessened the impact, and that was something they would have to rely on as the war dragged on.

"An hour before we arrive home, naps are permitted kids."

"I might take you up on that," Teela chuckled in good humor.

She saw a private comm channel get sent to her from Silver Nine, Flight Lieutenant Dev Zsen. She accepted the channel and listened for her fellow Corellian.

"You alright? I uh-I know Winx and you were close," the man started.

"Doesn't matter now, she's gone. Not the place to dwell."

"We can at least talk about it y'know."

"Not right now," she said with more hostility than she'd originally wanted to say it with.

"Teela come on," Dev continued, "I'm trying to help you out here."

"You're one word away from a fat lip Dev," their squadron commander butted in, having listened in with his squadron commander's override, "Everyone needs a bit of time to process. I know you're trying to help, but shut it."

And he did, and Teela decided to just shut her eyes and let her astromech pilot the ship en route back to the Dauntless and the fleet. When she was a few minutes out the droid would alert her and they would land, recuperate and head out for their next assignment as it came down to them. The problem was that, while tired, she didn't dream, it was just an unsatisfying blink of an eye and her droid was beeping in her helmet loudly waking her.

"That was it?" she groaned to her astromech droid and got a beep in return, "Yeah I know my back hurts, shouldn't have napped in the cockpit."

She waited as the fleet of starfighters dropped from hyperspace in front of the large fleet of RVC warships now over Wroona, protecting its shipyards along with a sizeable fleet of Clone and Jedi warships of the 19th Sector Army. All of these fighters were split into their flight groups and sent back towards their ships of origin which opened their hangars and Teela gently landed in the busy hangar bay.

"Welcome home," she said as she opened the cockpit as stairs were wheeled over by the knuckle draggers in their red uniforms and black.

"How'd you make out Lieutenant?" the crewman who'd wheeled the stairs over asked as she got out of the cockpit.

"Nineteen Vultures and a frigate," she said proudly, putting on her usual pilot's bravado and swagger, "Get 'em painted on for me will you?"

"You got it ace!" the crewman said proudly, almost living through her in the usual manner of flight deck personnel, who saw pilots as symbols of their own successful accomplishment of their jobs.

"Quadruple ace actually, this takes her to twenty-three kills," their deck chief corrected the young man.

"Thanks for the language lesson Chief," Commander App, CAG for the Dauntless and the number one ranked pilot aboard ship interrupted.

"Commander sir," Teela snapped to attention.

"Nice job Lieutenant, making us proud out there," he smiled and patted her on the shoulder as she took off her helmet and noticed the camera droid behind him, watching the conversation carefully, "A few more of those and you'll be competing with Jedi."

"As long as I beat clones and splash droids I'm happy sir," she smiled, winking at the camera and flashing a cocky smile, one she knew would go over well with the folks back home, and maybe anger a few Clone pilots.

"Very well," Commander App nodded and saluted once as he dismissed her and she flashed a two and a three to the camera droid which ate it all up as she joined her fellow squadron mates for debriefing.

"Loving the attention kid?" Captain Synk asked as he looked over his shoulder at his new celebrity squadron member.

"Not as much as it looks skipper."

"Well don't make too big a deal out of it, some of the Jedi aces are into triple digits."

"And I do believe we're all aces now, so there's that," Dev added as they walked into their squadron barracks and then as they noticed the newly unoccupied bunks of two of their members they paused upon entering.

What followed was a very solemn ceremony. In the back of the barracks was a patch of wall with a red Republic flag hanging off of the top and connecting to the ceiling. Captain Synk pulled out a pair of pictures of their lost comrades from their personnel files in his cabinet and a pair of magnetic pins that he went and put on the wall, Hood and Winx's pictures were placed right next to the two they had already lost. The pilots in their flight gear stood silent in respect as they looked at their fallen comrades' faces, memorialized on the wall of their quarters and set about opening up their gear for storage and sorting through issued and personal possessions.

"I'll take care of Winx," Teela stated as she stood in front of the empty bunk and kneeled down and opened the first drawer and placed everything inside on the bed as two bags were placed there by Captain Synk.

Officially pilots weren't supposed to take care of this part of the process, the justification being that the act was hard on morale. But the officers that had tried before had found that an outsider shuffling through their dead friends' possessions was even worse. So the pilots took it upon themselves. Teela quickly and silently put uniforms (with the exception of Winx's dress uniform) and issued equipment in the first bag, and anything with her name on it or her own personal possessions in the second bag. A datapad she placed in a smaller third bag for screening by intelligence officers for sensitive information. She hated doing this, and when she finished two of her comrades took the bags and placed them by the door for collection and delivery to Hood and Winx's family.

Teela, in a haze, sat down on her bunk and averted her eyes from the bags and the four empty bunks in their squadron room. A few of the others sat at one of the two small tables in the room and broke out a set of shot glasses and a bottle of Corellian Whiskey was produced and shots poured. A hand with a shot glass poured for her was offered and she took it.

"Thanks Dev," she said quietly and held the glass tightly, staring at the liquid.

"No problem," he replied and saw next to her, a glass of his own in hand as the two waited for the toast.

"To Hood and Winx," one of the others finally stated, holding up their glass.

"To Hood and Winx!" everyone responded and raised their own glasses.

Teela downed the whiskey, sighing as the burning smoky flavor flowed down her throat. She liked Corellian Whiskey, but the Bottle of Death was not a drink she wanted to be provided from.

"You alright?" Dev asked now that they were in their quarters.

"I'm gonna miss them, like the others," she responded as she looked up at the memorial wall.

"Me too, I always thought I had a chance with Winx y'know," he smirked, trying to shine a positive light with some good memories.

"You and Winx? I don't think I could have seen it," Teela shrugged with a reluctant smile.

"Don't think so? Doubt my abilities?"

"Very much so," she smirked.

"Fine, it's a bet."

"Oh, great, I'm your bounce back girl huh?"

"Hard to be a bounce-back if there was a never a first to bounce off of. Like you said, it didn't happen, and not for the reason I'd prefer."

She looked to the bunk of the girl in question, "Yeah me too."

Location: Detention Cell in CIS Command Center, Planet Harrin

"Wake up kids."

A splash of ice cold water in her face woke up Eva Quartin as she gasped at the cold water hitting her hard in the face. She'd passed out earlier, the last thing she remembered being an artillery bombardment on their own positions after being left behind by their unit in the midst of an enemy counterattack. She looked around and shivered at the cold and began struggling immediately but found her hands bound by restrainers behind her back and seated in a cold metal chair.

Another splash behind her and a yell from Wyatt and she could draw a breath now that she knew he was at least alive. As she sat there trying to blink out the haziness in her vision and the bright light shining in her face she tried to figure out what their current predicament was. That didn't take very long to figure out as her captors confirmed it for her.

"Welcome to Separatist Headquarters," a man with a deep voice smirked as she saw the black uniforms and armor of Sabaoth soldiers and a single Sabaoth officer in dark blue and light blue standing in front of her, holding an empty bucket.

"Not gonna tell you anything Seppie!" she said savagely, spitting as best she could at him, but her mouth was dry and didn't get much out of the effort.

A vicious right hook smashed across her face for her defiance and then another into her unprotected abdomen from a second soldier. She looked down and saw that her armor was gone and only her black undersuit remained. She gasped from the air being forced from her lungs and then had to even gasp worse as another gutshot was landed. A fourth punch across her face got Wyatt on his game and he too showed his defiance by speaking out.

"Hey fekkers leave her alone!" he yelled at them over his shoulder but was then beaten himself as his nose was broken in the first punch and a series of three gut shots and a few more shots to the face let him know how little the Sabaoths cared for what he had to say.

"Now, do I have your attention?" the Sabaoth officer asked as he looked down at them sitting back-to-back before him, two young Republic troopers, now his prisoners.

"Fek you!" Eva snapped again in a half-gasp but the officer slapped her with a back-handed blow that cut into her cheek thanks to his large silver ring, but she regained her senses and looked straight ahead and smirked, "Quartin, Eva, PFC, RT-4355."

"Lullian, Wyatt, PFC, RT-4354," Wyatt also followed up, remembering their training as to what to do and say when captured.

"Oh look at you, your drill sergeants must be so proud," the man laughed, along with the other mercenaries, "Won't matter anyway, you're just grunts, you don't matter enough for me to waste truth-serums on you. I'll just stick you both in front of a Holonet broadcast and shoot you."

"Quartin, Eva, RT-4355," Eva said again, not wanting to give him any satisfaction in seeing her afraid.

"Lullian, Wyatt, RT-4354."

"Shut them up."

Then beatings really began…

Location: Near Separatist Command Center, Planet Harrin

"Dagger-6 to all stations, mission is go, all Daggers proceed to phase line Alpha," Colonel Myec said into his helmet and saw the numerous troop symbols of both Caridan Commandos and regular infantry and armored units.

"Let's move," he said to the group of commandos around him, spread in the eight feet of grasses.

All of the experienced commandos moved forward in their skirmish line. The entirety of the team was assembled and moving now, their large armored suits with built-in jetpacks ready for use. A280 Blasters were trained forward with Viper Grenade Launchers and silencers ready to knock out any hostiles that they came across. Each of them knew their mission, and it was an important one.

Two troopers from the 3rd Legion had been captured, and the Sabaoths had gone onto the Holonet, threatening to kill them if the RVC did not halt its advance. The rest knew of such a public relations nightmare this would be should the two troopers be executed in so public a manner. But rescues were the Caridans' forte, and the Sabaoth Squadron was a favorite opponent. Caridan Commandos had met the Sabaoths on several undocumented occasions in the Outer Rim and both had shed one another's blood time and time again. But the Caridans always ended up having the best of the engagement. The Caridans now had the chance to officially put the Sabaoths in their place, six feet under.

The group moved forward and into the open where the Separatist Command Center was located behind the usual wall and guards in a central building. They knew what they had to do, attack and rescue the two troopers and kill every Sabaoth they saw, no questions asked. This was the Caridan way.

"Dagger-6 to Ranch, all Daggers in position," Colonel Myec noted as he walked to the final phase line, "At phase line Alpha, preparing to make assault."

"Ranch to Dagger-6, all units are in position, preparing to launch offensive."

Myec shrugged really quick to relax his muscles as he peered through the grass in front of him and moved forward. All of the commandos slowly moved step-by-step, their rifles forward to keep a sharp lookout only a foot or two in front of them the grass was so thick. They didn't take any time at all moving into their next positions, one platoon near the road to block reinforcements and cover any friendlies escaping by ground, another one for breaching the compound and another one to cover them. Myec would lead the breaching team, and his second-in-command would command the cover team with overwatch team being the third-in-command. The plan was very simple, strike hard and rescue the two troopers and get out.

"Dagger-1, overwatch in position," he heard his first platoon commander state firmly.

"Dagger-2 and Dagger-3 are in position now, prepare to assault. Three, two, one, execute."

All seventy plus members of the two platoons activated their jetpacks in powerful pulses that sent them flying into the air and angled right at the low wall of the Separatist HQ. The guards hadn't been expecting it and the whole south wall's droid guards were obliterated as Myec and his commandos leveled their weapons at them and opened fire. Myec himself landed a late shot on a B1 on the wall and flew right over it and made for the door to the front entrance of the circular headquarters building, some of which was actually underground, that was where the Sabaoths had their prisoners and their barracks.

"Blow it!" he ordered as he hit the ground and saw two of his men level their under-barrel rocket grenade launchers at it.

The two men fired and the first shot hit and blow open a massive hole in the door and the wall, the next one after it went inside and detonated there. Almost immediately upon the second projectile's detonation the commandos of 1st Platoon rushed the entrance, with Myec at the lead. He moved in immediately to see a darkened wreck of a room with orange fires lighting it a bit. The first enemy combatant he came across was a Sabaoth officer in an all-black uniform crawling on the ground towards a dead Sabaoth trooper's blaster. Without much thought he aimed and fired three shots that blasted burning holes in the man's back and then the Colonel continued. Other dead Sabaoths were shot for insurance and wounded one's shot for the sake of their blood feud with the Caridans.

"Hostiles!" a man yelled and the Caridans turned their blasters towards an opening double door entrance that a bunch of Sabaoths were rushing towards.

"Take 'em!"

The black armored enemy troops had no idea that they were under direct attack from RVC personnel, their immediate thought had been an artillery or air strike. But when the sixteen Sabaoths came up the stairs to aid the wounded command staff they were met with a hail of accurate blue bolts that pelted each of them in turn as they tried to fight back. But the fast-walking Caridans in their bulky camouflaged armor just mowed them down.

As was usual for him, Colonel Myec led the way, walking into the angled hallway and jerked his blaster rifle to the right and saw a Sabaoth trooper with a blaster pistol in the corner aiming at him and fired two shots that passed through the enemy soldier leaving burn marks on the wall. He returned his blaster's sights down the hallway and pulled the trigger on his grenade launcher and lobbed a powerful fragmentation round into an open door he knew to be a barracks. An explosion blew its excess force into the hall in a sharp blast of fire and deadly shrapnel and smoke started to gather in the hall.

Two Sabaoths tried to enter the hall from another room across from the one Myec had just devastated and he saw them both get popped immediately by Commandos forcing their way down the hall in force with rifles tucked to their shoulders and firing as they saw an enemy. Two teams split immediately and flanked the doors into the two barracks that were a cacophony of yelling and a man tossed a detonator into the second room and it exploded in a big way. Then, from the protected tubes on their backs five Marksman-M mini probe droids were deployed and the swarms entered the rooms and their tiny blasters began firing away into the Sabaoths inside.

Another Sabaoth rushed around the corner in the area where the detention cells were and Myec saw him lift his blaster to his shoulder and pour fire down at the Caridans. Quickly and swiftly the enemy was silenced as another team of twelve began rushing the cells, knowing that other enemy troopers were probably down there, and so were their primary objectives. Colonel Myec knew he had to check and verify that the two prisoners were indeed what and who they said they were, so he ran alongside his rescue team to the detention cells with the questions and answers pulled up on his HUD. He followed closely, and knew that it was fully possible the two troopers were already dead. When the door was opened he saw the two blue dots of their objective light up inside the room on his HUD and he sighed in relief, they were alive.

"Medic to the detention cell, we have wounded," the squad leader called out as Myec entered and he saw the damage.

The blonde girl, the one he knew to be PFC Quartin, had been beaten quite savagely, her left eye was swollen shut, blood came from her nose, lips, and a large gash on her cheek. Bruises were forming over most of her face and her ears had dried, older blood going down her neck. Her black body glove was also cut open from the neck down to between her breasts. The Sabaoths clearly hadn't held back with her, and her friend Lullian hadn't been treated differently. He had a long gash in his arm, likely caused by a knife, and his face had blood coming from his broken nose, a few smaller cuts on his cheek and a missing tooth which was on the ground in front of him.

Both were unconscious, incredibly badly beaten as they were it was no surprise. They'd been through a kind of hell to the commandos, but it wasn't the kind of torture that they'd been expecting when compared to the treatment of other hostages by pirates and criminal gangs. Those were simply horrendous to witness, and nothing could ever prepare one for even seeing such results. But lucky for them, these two Tanaab troopers could be woken up, and Myec could ask his questions. The first was the girl, who woke with a slow start and couldn't even open her swollen eye.

"Easy there kid," he said while her restraints were removed and a blanket wrapped around her as she was laid down, "I'm Colonel Myec, Caridan Commandos, we're here to rescue you. Just need to ask you a few questions. What is your father's business?"

"A-a slaughterhouse," she whispered, voice horribly croaking.

"What is the name of your sister?"

"Eliz," she responded again and Myec nodded to the others to get her out.

He then turned to Wyatt, and kneeled down next to him as he was fighting hard to stay conscious, even with the medic's efforts.

"Private Lullian, what is the name of the ranch you worked at?" Myec asked him quickly, knowing he could go under again.

"Lakesfield…" the young man responded.

"What did the GAR task you with when you volunteered there?"

"Cook…nuts to that," he smiled back and chuckled dryly which made Myec nod in appreciation and pat him on the shoulder.

"Okay, get 'em outta here! Medivac is inbound!"

The rescue squad carried the two out on folding hovering stretchers and quickly made their way out and to the blown open entrance. There a battle was now raging with incredible viciousness. Dozens and dozens of the commandos' mini probe droids were zipping around on the walls firing down at a column of battle droids advancing upon them with armored support. Sounds of a larger battle going on in the distance let the team know that they were soon to have reinforcements. But right now the droids were bearing down upon them with at least two battalions with armored support. However the commandos had a surprise in store for just such an occasion.

"Whiplash, Whiplash, this Dagger-6, hostiles are laid out on a silver platter, you are weapons free, I repeat weapons free," Myec ordered after pulling his overwatch team out of the line of fire along with his cover team.

"Dagger-6, this is Whiplash, coming in hot," his comm called out and the sound of suppressed engines and the dark black shapes of three modified Kappa-Class Shuttles rose above the trees.

From three hundred meters away the three large shuttles opened up their weapons compartments on their stealth-coated hulls. On the forward corners of their boxy hulls two triple-barreled rotary laser cannons swung into position, their twin heavy laser cannons deployed from under the chin, the topside laser turret rose to fire-mode, and rocket pods swung out from protective housings in front of the wings. All of these weapons fired at the same instant, aimed at the droids advancing on the commandos now defending their former HQ. The stealth shuttles' combined firepower tore into the droid ranks and the AAT's advancing with them were targeted with rockets that blow open the droid-operated vehicles from afar without the droids even being capable of stopping the massacre. Immediately after the last droid had fallen the commandos fell back to their shuttles with their two rescued objectives in tow and boarded the shuttles.

Lifting off they could see the droid forces being pinned in from the south as RVC forces attacked towards the capital, aiming right at the city with a force that numbered nearly forty-five thousand troops and hundreds of armored vehicles. It was an awesome sight, one that Myec had hoped to one day see, and now that was one check on his bucket list, just the same as this mission was a check in the box that said "Mission Accomplished."

 **I loved writing this particular chapter I'll tell you that. Did it all in about two and a half hours. Very proud of myself. So I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll see you next time.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Training the next batch of recruits and growing in fame.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Location: Planet Yag'Dhul

The deserted rocky canyon that converged in a three-way intersection was an excellent position. The valleys and rocky terrain made land-based attacks incredibly difficult and the hardened stone of the area made underground facilities the prime method for fortification. Work on the underground base had begun quickly, drilling into the hard rock contracted engineers had begun creating the necessary framework of tunnels for housing supporting the equipment and personnel needed to run it. It was a large task, but they knew that they had little time as the six V-150 "Planet Defender" Ion Cannons were waiting to be installed along with their dedicated power generators.

To protect those powerful weapons a convoy of AA-9 Freighters had arrived to deliver the eighteen large XX-10 Turbolaser Towers to their destination in protective positions for the defense of the ion cannons. Among the ships were also twenty-eight Inferno Anti-Aircraft Flak Turrets and numerous BP.2 Anti-Infantry Turrets. All of them were sealed against the outside elements due to Yag'Dhul's treacherous conditions. Smaller crews of military engineers digging deep fortified trenches and large pillboxes to cover any possible avenue of approach were also at work. Heavily reinforced duracrete was being poured into rayshield casts with the durasteel bars already present. Airlocks were placed already, and trenches were getting their covers in the more important parts.

Such other measures such as power fences, tank traps, walls, and SLD-14 shield generators were ready for use, just needed installing and power sources. These ten power generators, DSS-02's, were being installed underground in large caverns well-below the surface. They would power a large sensor that would provide target acquisition aid to the ion cannons that would be capable of wiping out large fleets with little difficulty. But not much could be done until the large power generator facilities, five underground caverns holding four of DSS-02's in an 'X' with a power relay system in the middle. It was all very impressive on paper, but time would be key to the construction phase of the facility. But most important to the facility was a prototype cloaking field over all of the base's parts that would provide the concealment needed for springing a trap upon even the most cautious of enemy commanders. Part of the RVC's offensive was centered upon this necessity to keep Yag'Dhul safe from attack.

"We are at a crossroads gentlemen," Admiral Drexel said to his assembled staff as the view of the large facility, completed but with red over all the parts not yet complete, namely all of it that mattered, was on the holotable, "Our problem is that the enemy has got a lot of ships standing between us and Sullust."

"As it stands now we know that the 21st Task Group is on station here, at Sullust, but they have a reserve reaction force made up of a hundred ships centered on a Providence-Class Dreadnought and a battleship wing of eight Lucrehulks. But the 18th Sector Army of the GAR has been keeping the majority of their forces in place while we've been beating up on the 19th Task Group whittling away their forces with our starfighter strikes," Commander App laid out, "But they still have a dozen battleships of their own and thirty Providence Class destroyers as their primary battle line."

"What we need to do is to destroy the enemy's last strategic reserves and push towards Sullust force a decisive engagement with the Separatists dividing their forces to meet both us and the local Clone forces and destroy them before enemy reinforcements can be brought in-theater. For that to happen we need to find and destroy the 19th Task Group, lure them out into the open and engage them head-on," Drexel said as he highlighted the enemy unit in question, knowing just how important it was to deal that lethal blow to the enemy, "Specifically their battle line."

"We can possibly give them a propaganda opportunity, seeing as we've been hitting them with that pretty hard they'll be looking for their own opportunity to hit back."

"Harrin, we leave our garrison with an enlarged supply and ammunition supply," Commander App responded, "We let the enemy come at us with full strength, a straight shot back to Yag'Dhul and they think that they can isolate our forces."

"But we lie in wait and destroy them in one massive attack," Drexel nodded, "Get the 1st Corps enough supplies to last in a battle against a large invasion force."

"A Clone battalion is on its way to Harrin, part of a GAR measure to make sure that we're not abusing the people."

"That's fine, us fighting alongside the Clones will be just what our reputation needs to get us the positive coverage we need."

"We always need more of that, especially with us being built off volunteers."

"Speaking of that, training's begun for the next batch of recruits, a few months from now we'll be launching a new batch of twenty legions, six hundred thousand troops, and enough crews and pilots for the five task forces they will be paired with."

"Fine, and given this kind of victory we'll have many more legions and more ships. To win this war that's what we need to do."

"To win this battle first we might have to make sacrifices, this plan effectively isolated sixty thousand troops and isolates them without support," Drexel sighed, "Make certain medical supplies are in enough supply for them, this'll be a rough week for them."

Location: I Volunteer Corps, Planet Harrin

"Morning Lullian," Wyatt heard in his room in the 1st Corps's headquarters in the medical wing.

Wyatt opened his eyes, but one of them had a bandage over his right eyebrow and was covering his eye. He looked and saw a familiar face, his platoon commander.

"Lieutenant Yuno? Sir," he tried sitting up but the headache he had prevented that.

"Relax trooper. You're fine," Yuno responded waving him down with his free hand, his other one holding his helmet, "The platoon's off the line, the Separatists surrendered after the commandos rescued you."

"We won sir?" Wyatt heard off to his right and looked over and saw Eva, sitting up in a hospital bed like him, she too was patched up, with the swelling on her eye going down, "Hey Wyatt."

"Yeah, we won, the Seppies threw in the towel here, but we've been tasked with holding the planet, get better quick you two, we'll be needing you back."

"Oh I don't like the sound of that," Wyatt winced.

"No one does, we're being ordered to dig in," Yuno responded with a shrug, "The docs say you'll be well enough to return to duty after an hour in a bacta tank."

"Fine sir."

"We'll be back sir," Eva added as her own consent.

"Good, by the way, you're being decorated, POW Medals. Not the best, but you have your bling now, try to get anymore of these will you?" Yuno joked.

"They already did sir," Wyatt said, pointing at the medal boxes on the table between the two troopers.

"Oh good, you can get the armor back on and get back to the platoon, tell the docs to hurry up."

"Gotcha eltee, we'll back," Wyatt saluted along with Eva.

"Before I go, I wanna say sorry, we shouldn't have left you behind."

"Wasn't your fault sir," Eva assured him, "Bad luck."

"Tell that to the captain, got chewed out. But I'm just glad you two made it."

The officer left the room and left the two to themselves and Eva sighed loudly, meaning that she wanted to talk.

"What?" Wyatt smirked.

"The medal, it's just kind of a way of saying that we got caught."

"I know, but we made the criteria. But the medal itself signifies more than that, you're well aware of that. You're just mad," Wyatt responded to Eva.

"You bet your ass I'm mad! Those Seppies had us looking like a couple helpless hostages to be rescued like civvies! You know how that makes us look?"

"Bad, but it happened, we're alright, and we're going to have our chance at getting even."

"Well at least your mom and dad know you're okay by now," Eva added.

"And yours too, don't try and say you're pop wouldn't be concerned," Wyatt countered.

"He'd be more relieved with what they didn't do," Eva shrugged, and Wyatt knew what she meant, the subject of taking advantage of her had been brought up by two of the guards. However the threat had never come to pass, they'd been rescued before that happened.

"Yeah, I'm relieved just as much as you."

"Good to hear," Eva responded and settled back, knowing that they were going to be fine, they had a lot happen over the past day. But now they had a chance to fight back and get even, that was something that suited both troopers just fine.

Location: RVC Training Base Charlie-6, Planet Fresia

Professor Challis, now Captain Challis, stood in front of a whole infantry company standing in formation for the first time. The unit stood in their full armor with weapons slung over their shoulders. Their parent unit, the 35th Volunteer Legion, was formed and in training. Drawn primarily from the Core and Inner Rim it was a unit of city kids, former cops, and many grizzled defense force veterans. Captain Challis himself had command of a mix of all demographics and economic statuses and he was really having to rely on his NCO's who were all veterans of planetary defense forces, some of them having more experience than most of his company had been alive.

The hot sun of Fresia beat down upon them as they stood awaiting orders, all of them somewhat tired after a long ruck march the previous night. A few of them swatted at mosquitos and bugs thinking their bright shiny armor were flowers.

"You people are at the position, of attention!" a roaring voice from a tall officer named Major Karl Saben snapped at them out of nowhere.

He was a hardass, no other words so perfectly described him. The tall no-nonsense Commenor Defense Force veteran had had a boot either on their neck or halfway up their collective asses for the past few days and already had a nasty reputation. His command of the battalion had been ruthless, his need for perfection of his men absolute. Alpha Company was no exception, and Challis was doing the best he could to keep his men on pace the way Major Saben demanded. He understood why Saben demanded so much of his troopers, but the troopers themselves, being the rank and file they were always complained without truly understanding themselves. Once more only the veterans and NCO's knew the reasons for such harsh training.

So as Saben worked his way down the line looking for infractions he started finding some. Stopping in front of one of his DLT-18 gunners the trooper unslung his rifle and held out for inspection.

"Name and operating number," Saben snapped.

"Miitbaden, RT-8223," the man said quickly and Saben snatched the repeating blaster from his hands and put a finger at the base of the barrel where the air holes ended and came out with black soot.

"Oil residue on the rear barrel locking pin recruit meat," Saben informed the kid and rubbed it off on the gunner's pristine white and red plastoid chest plate and turned away after tossing the weapon back, "Fifteen drop!"

He moved on down the line once more while the previous offender dropped into pushup position and went to a grenadier and the girl pulled her weapon out for inspection.

"Name and operating number."

"Guyl, RT-8215," the girl responded quickly and firmly.

Saben looked at the weapon and then at the grenade pouches and opened one up and took out a rocket grenade and then reached into the pouch itself and came out with a large dead bug.

"Is this the only bug you're carrying recruit?" Saben questioned the girl as he held the dead insect up to her helmet visor.

"No sir."

"I doubt that very highly, fifteen drop!"

There was a slight chuckle from the rank behind the first one and Saben heard it and the trooper he saw as guilty had the officer in his face within a second while the girl began her own pushups.

"Did I hear something from you recruit?" Saben questioned the man right to his face.

"No sir!"

"Oh that's a problem because I think I did, and I think you were telling me what I did hear. How do you know such things recruit?" Saben responded, knowing how hard a position this man was now in.

"I-I don't know sir."

"I sense hesitation, you want to repeat your answer with some more, confidence!"

"I don't know sir!"

"No you don't, twenty-five drop! Sergeant make sure he counts right because he apparently doesn't know!" Saben roared at him and moved on down the line, stopping occasionally to glare at individual troopers before moving to the officers, and stood in front of the company, "Because of these infractions and many others I don't have all-day to list, every recruit and officer in this company now has another ruck march!"

Every single recruit and officer in the company groaned internally, many of them clenching their teeth in anger. This was not the sort of thing they had hoped to be doing today, especially since they'd just done one last night. Their hope today was to go on the range and get some trigger time. But no, that wasn't to be, for now at least.

"And don't worry recruits, you still need that range time, but you don't need sleep as much. Your training schedule today will be completed as required, but at your own cost!" Saben informed them, "Captain Challis!"

"Sir!" Challis responded loudly.

"Mountain Glenn," Saben said with a humorous grin on his face.

"Mountain Glenn, yes sir," Challis responded with a salute, after grinding his teeth in sour anger.

"Fall out!"

"Alpha Company!" Challis roared as he dropped the salute and turned to his troops in a sharp about face, "Left, face! Forward march!"

The unit began its march and Challis quickly assumed the lead at the head of the company with the platoon leaders in step with their platoons at their sides. Next to him was his company first sergeant, a man by the Kelrein, without doubt the most experienced man in the unit. The short stocky man was unfazed by most anything their training had to throw at them but seemed to have been keeping his peace with everything thus far, not really talking to the officers very much as he had some reservations about them all. So he held the unit guidon, a red flag with the Republic Seal and their company letter, battalion and regimental number on it, and he kept his peace.

They marched onwards, through the base, and then out of the gate of the base towards what was known as Mountain Glenn, a tall hill off six miles to the east with a small GAR base located along the dirt path. The Clone Troopers here were always fresh from the front on leave for rest, and were usually somewhat intoxicated and a popular past time of the Clones was to berate passing RVC companies. It was a bit humiliating each time, as new Clones were always there, so the insults never let up. And a mile down the road in open swampy terrain the company found their way to the front of the base.

"Oh great," Kelrein said under his breath, "They're waiting for us sir."

"I see them," Challis responded, seeing the Clones in their garrison uniforms on the wall along the road, "Get a cadence going First Sergeant. Let's show these Clones a good look at Alpha Company."

"Yes sir. Alright! Get in step lads!"

The troops got into a firm marching set, legs and arms swinging as one movement like over a hundred copies of the same person. The unit was looking good as they approached the Clones who each had on their black garrison uniform tunic and pants with their left arms showing the patch of the 104th Clone Battalion, the Wolfpack. Well over twenty of them were chilling out on the wall, in a complete state of relaxation as they watched the approaching company.

"Look there boys, it's amateur hour!" a clone voice called out as soon as they were near.

"Ignore them sir," the thick accent of Kelrein said, "Eyes front."

"Hey rookies! Having fun with training?!" another Clone taunted them.

"Yeah, it's all they're good for," one of his buddies laughed and thus drew more laughs from several other Clone Troopers.

As the troops marched to the entrance a Clone Commander walked out of the entrance between the sentries in his full armor. His black hair was cut to the standard military cut and he had a cybernetic eye. This was Commander Wolffe, a legendary Clone Commander serving under Jedi Master Plo Koon.

"Oi, quiet down you lot!" Wolffe snapped at his troops harassing the RVC company.

"That's a change," Challis said under his breath.

"Aye, not your average Clone sir," Kelrein agreed

"Let's show some appreciation," Challis nodded, "Company, eyes…right!"

The RVC troops, who had their rifles on their right shoulders turned their heads to the right and the officers who had their blaster rifles still slung over their shoulders grabbed the slings with their left hands and saluted normally with their right hands, looking to the right as the leading elements passed Commander Wolffe. So Wolffe and the Clone sentries returned the salute as they passed, a gesture of respect. Once they had passed Wolffe returned to the interior of the base and the company continued on towards Mountain Glenn.

Alpha Company marched uphill, moving up the dirt trail at the march. The unit continued on and their disgruntled attitudes returned. With nothing but their in-step trudging boot hitting the hard packed ground their minds had an opportunity to think and feel. One of them was feeling quite peeved at the moment unfortunately.

"I'm gonna say something," one of their larger troopers carrying a dummy rocket launcher and an A280.

"Say what?" his comrade next to him asked, questioning his friend's intentions.

"Captain Challis!" he called out.

"What is it?" Challis asked the man.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Granted."

"Sir how come we are always out marching when other companies are out on the firing range and learning how to be soldiers," the man said sourly, "We get less sleep and more PT than anyone else. Why is that sir?"

"Why do you think private?" Challis smirked.

"Major Saben hates us sir."

Challis chuckled a bit at that notion, he knew the reason why, they didn't have facilities for all the companies to be out on the range at one time or out training on combat, or anything else. Alpha Company had the nightshift, volunteered by Captain Challis himself. He knew of the treacherous conditions of lack of sleep, exhaustion, and general wear and tear on a unit. He was preparing them for that. It surprised Major Saben that a professor would do this, the most trying workload for a company to handle. It had a rough impact on his company, and he had to alleviate their grumbling.

"Major Saben doesn't hate us private. He just hates you."

A series of laughs echoed across the company as they all appreciated the joke. It was a welcome relief and they enjoyed it. The only thing that caused it to stop was another company from another related battalion marching towards them from the top of the hill. The company commander gave Challis a salute as they passed and Challis returned it at the same time as demanded of an officer to another of equal rank. Both companies marched on by one another at a good pace and for the troops of Alpha Company it was a sobering reminder that they weren't alone.

"Sir, private channel," First Sergent Kelrein asked of Challis.

"Yes First Sergeant?" Challis asked as he looked to him over his shoulder as an acknowledgement.

"Do you mind if I speak freely sir?"

"Seems to be a lot of that going on."

"Aye sir, the boys...we've been watching you sir. You learn fast, you're tough. It's becoming a real pleasure serving under you," Kelrein started out.

"Thank you Frist Sergeant. I hear the men really look to you though, you're a veteran, you know more than most anyone," Challis responded to the man.

"Aye I guess you can say that sir. I made the trip down the Spine in the Stark War and I've blasted me fair share of pirates and crooks even before that. After a while these long marches become just nice little strolls."

"I suppose that you know what we're doing out here?" Challis asked.

"Aye, you volunteered us. Each battalion has a night fighting company that's usually its lead strike unit. You want us to be that company," Kelrein chuckled, "I get it."

"You're not mad First Sergeant?"

"Of course not sir, you've been here every step of the way, no one can say you're not at least leading us from behind. You've already learned the most important lesson there is."

"What's that?"

"Do as you do, and lead from the front," the grizzled veteran responded.

"I suppose that is the point of being an officer isn't it?"

"Not as many take that to heart sir, especially the Seppies, that's why we'll win this war."

Location: Battleship Kiroh, Flagship of the 19th Task Group

The 19th Task Group was in a poor state, of its original six hundred ships it had lost a hundred of them in the past week. Their forces were stretched thin, and every time they lost a small flotilla guarding a planet against invasion they were harassed or outright obliterated by massed starfighter strikes. Rear Admiral Ana Der had been holding out for reinforcements, but there was increased pressure against the 25th Task Group and her other reinforcements were sent there to protect Sullust. But Praetor-Class Battlecuisers were leading a push by the Jedi and the Clone fleet.

All the reinforcements they'd been promised hadn't been sent to her and her fleet. Sullust was the most important Separatist world in the area, and she was protecting mere mining worlds that had very little association with the alliance. But to her, it was an important stepping stone to a great career to become a full admiral. However she realized she was up against an old teacher, Admiral Cynan Drexel. As a young cadet she was sent by her planet's militia to be the first one to be trained in the Core from the Anaxes War College. She'd done well enough there to gain recognition and command of her current fleet, but she questioned her ability to face Drexel.

"New intelligence report Admiral," her advising tactical droid stated calmly.

"Let's hear it."

"Hostile forces have moved out of Harrin's orbit leaving an occupation army on the planet. Republic forces are continuing their offensive against Sullust and Republic deployments suggest that the Republic Volunteer Corps is remaining in place to prevent this fleet from aiding in our defensive efforts. My calculations indicate that the Republic fleet will remain at Yag'Dhul to protect the Republic's lines of operations," the droid listed off.

"And what do your calculations say of our ability to take Harrin?" Admiral Der said calmly, rubbing her chin as she thought of a plan.

"Task Force 19 is only eighty-three percent combat effective, but retains the advantage of numbers and strategic depth and flexibility. I calculate that the RVC stands only a thirty percent chance of holding the planet and driving our forces out of orbit."

"The last time we thought that of these people we lost the 15th," Der responded quickly, reminding him of the eight percent chance that the RVC had of remaining on the defensive."

"The odds were acceptable and the attack was within possible parameters," the droid responded.

"And if the dreadnought attacks us directly?"

"If the Basilisk is deployed then our forces have a sixty percent chance of success with a conventional battle plan."

"Admiral Drexel will turn those odds around. I know him, he's the best the Republic has as far as I'm concerned. Which means we'll have to hit them hard and in a way they won't see coming," Der said calmly as she allowed a plan to form in her mind.

"His past tactics and academic records have been analyzed and taken into account," the droid dismissed her concerns.

"Right…prepare the main fleet, gather all available forces at our disposal," Admiral Der ordered, "We're going to push them back."

"By your command."

Location: Senate Building, Planet Coruscant

"And with the surrender of the Separatist forces on the planet Harrin the Republic Volunteer Corps has now captured three major worlds and destroyed more than eight hundred Separatist ships," the holographic image of the Holonet New reporter Erik Syno stated confidently.

The image was on a desk with footage of the destruction of an entire droid army and the footage of rapidly moving columns of RVC vehicles that stretched to the horizon on the holoprojector.

"Battle droid losses by the rebels are being counted in the millions, and elements of the enemy's Sabaoth Squadron have also suffered heavy casualties. The Republic Volunteer Corps has also reported only light losses in their offensive against the enemy. This is a stunning development for the Republic as it has now taken the initiative and launched a new offensive. Republic military spokesmen are declaring that Sullust itself will soon be under siege and the Southern Outer Rim will be under Republic control once more."

Padme shut off the news feed on her desk as she and a few other senators watched it and took it in humbly.

"It seems the war has entered a new stage I'm afraid," Padme sighed as she leaned back into her chair.

"Or it could be the beginning of the end," someone else said confidently.

"While the success of the Volunteer Corps has been impressive they are fighting on a secondary front. The enemy's main forces are being sent against the Jedi and the Clones. While they are helping…our forces are just barely holding the line," Bail Organa shook his head.

"But we have seen an increase in public morale. Their forces have done wonders for those worlds on the fence about joining the Republic or the Separatists."

"But if the RVC is destroyed…it could backfire on us."

"It will only make them martyrs, what we should fear is a massacre by those patriots in the RVC."

"If that happens…who knows what will happen to our war efforts."

Padme put a very succinct point on all of that, "We will only know until it is too late to change things either way. I have been advised that my Queen has lifted the ban on volunteers joining the fight. The RVC is only getting larger, and if that continues the risks to everyone will grow."

 **I was very happy with the previous chapter and felt like I could hammer out another one so here it is. If anyone has any input as to what you would like to see as far as what kind of plots or a versus scenario like Grevious or Dooku vs. Anaxes Knights or a battle with Clone and Volunteer forces fighting side by side let me know.**

 **Also, I will be posting a new Star Wars story about a post-Endor battle of the New Republic versus the Imperial Remnant. It'll be small-scale, very personal and very character driven. I might even have a tie-in to this story that hints to this story's future. So if you want to see that let me know in a review.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The Siege of Harrin begins and an icon of the future draws its first blood.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Location: Orbit over Planet Harrin

The Separatist assault fleet entered the planet's orbit like a lightning bolt, quickly driving the small RVC task force out of orbit within a few minutes after a second wave of Lucrehulk Battleships jumped into place and began grinding forward. The three Venators of the Task Force 1 had to fall back and cover their Acclamators as the six CR90's and two Arquitens protected the fleet from enemy starfighter attacks. The two fleets lost nothing but position before the Republic forces withdrew after a few stiff volleys of turbolaser fire were exchanged from long range. But eventually the RVC fleet withdrew, and the Separatists decided to deploy their ground forces to secure the planet and destroy the sixty thousand troopers dug in on the ground.

Over the planet the 19th Task Group had deployed itself in full force. An armada of four hundred frigates and light destroyers surrounded a dozen Lucrehulk-Class Battleships with a mobile battle line of thirty Providence-Class Carrier-Destroyers now hovered menacingly over the planet. This fleet was Admiral Der's gamble, Harrin was the buffer between Separatist space and the strategically crucial hyperspace hub of Yag'Dhul. If she could take this planet then the Republic would have to scale back its offensive towards Sullust and deploy to face her heavy warships.

"Ground forces are ready for deployment," Admiral Der heard her tactical droid call out, "RVC ground troops are taking cover beneath local defense shields in strategically advantageous positions around the capital centered on three Prefabricated Bases."

"We won't fire on the planet, strategic analysts are saying that we risk retaliation from the RVC against populated planets if we do, launch assault craft, escort them down, stay out of their range and get those droids on the ground."

"Roger roger."

Admiral Der walked to the viewscreen of the bridge and looked down as C-9979's began to deploy from the hangars and maneuvered into formations to land on the planet. Each held a full regiment of 4,300 battle droids and over a hundred armored repulsorlift vehicles. Vulture Droids and Hyena Bombers escorted each of them towards their destination like a swarm of angry bees, ready to pounce on RVC forces that may have attempted to sortie to attack them. She knew that she was deploying two full droid armies totaling 218,000 droids in each formation. It should have been all that was needed for this mission to succeed and to deal a crushing blow against the RVC, losing sixty thousand men, a complete Volunteer Corps including elite Anaxes Knights Caridan regulars would be a devastating moral strike against the enemy. But she knew that was Drexel would know that, and feared his reprisal attack because of that.

"Are we sure that the Basilisk and the main enemy fleet is still near Yag'Dhul?" Admiral Der asked.

"Our intelligence and scouting is certain that the Basilisk has pulled back to Mechis," the large droid said calmly.

"We'll wait here for them to deploy to Yag'Dhul, and then jump them with the battleships, that dreadnought is the key," Der nodded at the soundness of her plan. She wanted to use surprise and the firepower of her dozen Lucrehulks to smash that Kuati giant and force it to withdraw and the thirty Providence-Class Destroyers of her mobile battle line to screen the battleships against the Venators that would be alongside. After Yag'Dhul and Mechis everyone now knew how deadly that dreadnought really was. It made her somewhat proud in a way, she'd previously warned the CIS Admiral Staff of the dangers just one of those monsters could truly pose to them, and now they knew she was right.

"Understood. Ground forces are on their way down."

Location: Bridge over the Axii River, Planet Harrin

"Here they come," Lieutenant Yuno said over the comms as the company stood at the ready in their fortifications on their side of the river with the shield to their backs.

"Roger that, all troopers stay down, we're in good cover use it," Wyatt and Eva's squad leader said to everyone as he walked the line beneath the thick orchard situated on a ridge thirty meters high at a bend in the river that overlooked the bridge to their left.

"Here we go again," Wyatt said to Eva who was sitting in their new foxhole right alongside him.

"Yep, this time I've got this though," the blonde responded by patting her DLT-18.

The two sat within a duracrete bunker no bigger than a foxhole with an underground sleeping chamber that they'd both added onto with confiscated cut lumber over the past week. They'd reinforced the wood with a tarp to keep water out, as it did rain a lot here, and local farmers had helped them out pile on dirt in a two-foot thick layer and then planted thick, quick-growing grasses meant for livestock feed on top and on the sides. They'd always known this was going to be their battle station, and had fortified it as best they could, reinforcing their rear entrance with thick lumber to form a kind of porch that they'd tossed a camouflage net over. Below ground their bunker had a thin tunnel about three feet wide that connected a square fireteam chamber eight feet below the ground itself where another clone of their bunker for their fireteam leader and his battle buddy was connected to the chamber. Their sleeping bags had been placed there on the ground on the duracrete floor with a couple lamps on the walls giving some light in the cold room.

The whole ridge was crossed with trenches connecting the forward fighting positions to mortar pits in the rear, the company HQ bunker, entirely underground, and these trenches had wood siding, and were covered as best as they could in the past week with fresh green feed grass disguising them from above. The company was spread thinly, each fireteam having a perfect firing angle onto the open fields below the ridge. Wyatt and Eva's bunker overlooked a major road that droid forces had to move along in order to get to the bridge and cross the river.

In this part of the region the Axii River carved into the ground, creating sheer banks on both sides. This made the bridge incredibly important, and the RVC had positioned the balance of a whole battalion with armored and artillery support on their side of the river. Delta Company was positioned to the west of the bridge, where the Axii River Road was cut from the top of the bank to protect top-heavy speeder trucks from tipping over into the river because of the powerful winds. This had proven to be a clear advantage to the RVC, who'd mined the road, ready to blow out the walls and wash enemy vehicles and droids into the river and cut them apart from a hundred and fifty meters away on high ground.

"There they are," Eva said, picking out the form of at least fifteen C-9979's dropping into the atmosphere.

"Holy…" Wyatt breathed audibly as the craft landed without being molested, "That's a lot of droids."

Location: Separatist Staging Area, Planet Harrin

"Ready?" Captain Titus asked the other Knights around him from a thick forest around the Separatist landing zone. He had a company of Knights under his command for the exclusive purpose of attacking the landing craft once they had landed.

"Always," his brother Abel said, switching on his lance's heated cone.

"Set your bikes, we need to cut through those tensor fields to snap those wings off, half of you stay low, cut apart their advance vehicles and droids."

"Bikes set!"

Titus throttled up his armored speeder bike and raised his lance, ready to charge into the fray.

"Let's ride!"

The company of eighty mounted Knights split up immediately, with half moving right and half moving left. Titus stayed on the right side, knowing that fifteen landing craft had already begun unloading their vehicles and droids. The road was quickly getting choked with enemy armored vehicles hovering along towards the bridge where a company of Clone Troopers with a few AT-TE's was waiting to defend the town on the river next to the bridge. The Knights needed to thin out the droid ranks for them to have a chance. The Knights on the right were going for the landing site, where they hoped to destroy ships as they offloaded. The Knights on the left, under Abel's command were meant to shatter the enemy's line of advance and cause their advance to halt and their columns to become jumbled up.

"Abel, wait for us to launch our assault," Kayle Titus ordered over the comms, "We'll take care of the ships, jump them from above. Second echelon make sure to gash the wing tips, we bring down the ships and we bring their repair and maintenance facilities."

"Be careful, you're gonna be surrounded by thousands of droids."

"We'll get our licks in and get out," Titus smirked as they went along a creek, hovering over the rippling water under a thick tree canopy.

The Knights soon got into position on a hill overlooking the landing site and Titus silently waved them forward. The unit zipped down at a rapid pace, aiming right at the gathering C-9979's that was starting to offload their deadly cargo. The droids didn't see the Knights coming until the Knights pulled up and burst through the forest as they went straight for the droid lines. Already there was a droid camera crew working to document some good propaganda for the Separatists.

A single B1 Battle Droid standing with a long range transmitter strapped to its back had a cable strapped to the camera another B1 was holding as it pointed its camera at a BD-3000 Luxury Droid that was acting as a frontline reporter.

"Here you can see the noble droid army of the Confederacy advancing from their landing site upon the positions of the Republic occupation. Soon our glorious flag will be flying once more over this peaceful planet," the blue and chromed droid said in her usual soothing female voice as the camera pointed at her with a column of tanks and blocks of droids marching behind her.

But then the droids began to swing into action behind her as the camera panned around and showed that there was a line of speeder bikes heading right at them coming from higher up than was normal. However on the ground another line cut aiming their lances right at the droids that were firing at them. Their thick nose armor deflected the average bolt and the AAT's were too slow. The bikes cut into the droid ranks with the camera tracing it all along, and one bike zoomed in under a C-9979's wing. The rider's lance slashed into the tip and gashed a glowing hole through the metal and caused the field to flash out and fail as an explosion. The wing then groaned and then collapsed onto the ground, crushing numerous droids and several tanks.

The camera then turned once more to get more footage, but its last images were of an Anaxes Knight coming right at it. Kayle Titus was the Knight that decided it would be just the kind of statement that would be sure to instill terror into the hearts of their enemies. He cut apart the droid and continued through and pulled up on his controls and aimed his lance into the tips of a landing craft's wings and cut through the bottom of both parallel wings and continued on underneath it as the fully loaded craft's right side snapped off and the whole ship crashed to the ground. He saw six other landing crafts collapsed with one or two wings broken off and laying lopsided on the ground. But the droids were getting the measure of the Knights now and he decided it was time to withdraw.

"Withdraw, fall back to the bridge!" Titus ordered, "Abel now!"

As he first echelon of Knights broke from the engagement the second one triggered its ambush, leaping out from the trees and cut into the armored column on the road leading towards the RVC frontline. AAT's and MTT's dropped immediately, flames and smoke climbing into the sky as the Knights wrecked the lead units and caused a pileup in behind them that now spread out into the plains that Kayle's Knights, thirty-six of them, tore through and did a bit more damage before the scattered Knights fell back across the grasslands. Casualties were light, four Knights were all that had fallen to the fire of the enemy droids.

Clone firepower kept the droid bombers away, who hadn't been close enough to effect the outcome. When the Knights entered the town the Clone company had been fortifying for the coming assault the Clone officer in charge greeted him.

"Well then, that oughta put those clankers behind schedule," the brown marked clone said to Titus, pointing to the smoke rising over the near horizon.

"We brought down at least six landing craft, the big ones. Should cut their numbers by more than they'd anticipated," Titus said as he removed his helmet and tossed his shield over his shoulder, "Captain Titus, 1st Volunteer Legion. What's the situation here?"

"Captain Ryker, 256th Legion. We have a full company and a platoon of heavy walkers in place. You volunteers have fortified the high ground and dominate the approaches."

"Troopers and armor from the 3rd Legion, the Taanab unit," Titus nodded, following the Clone Captain into the command center they had.

"Farmers," the Clone smirked, "Not expecting much then."

"That same outfit spearheaded the engagement at the crossroads, had the major hand in wiping out a whole droid division."

"Oh well they've graduated to the big boy leagues now. Another droid landing force has begun deploying further west, and will be advancing up the river towards us. You might've slowed down the closer of the two forces Captain, but there's a bigger one coming," Captain Ryker informed Titus, pointing all of this out on the map in the center of what was a cantina.

"My knights will help you hold the town. I have seventy-six of them, all excellent warriors."

"You bring blasters?"

Titus held up his SE-14R repeating blaster pistol to show he was, "We hold them against our shields, they do a good job at medium range."

"Right, hope your lads are as good on foot as you are on those bikes."

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk

"The enemy fleet has done exactly what we thought they'd do," Commander Vay informed Drexel as they looked at the reports.

"Good, let's hope the prototypes live up to their promise," Drexel stated firmly, "Commence operation."

"All ships, battle stations! Prepare starfighters for immediate launch."

"Reactors to full power, turbolaser batteries to full power."

Drexel knew this was their biggest test, he'd put the RVC fleet's back to the wall, but he'd gotten some help. It had taken some doing, but he had a secret weapon for the Separatists.

Location: Orbit around Gas Giant Farrin

Task Force 1 jumped into orbit around the blue gas giant in a stream of their red painted warships. Sixteen ships in total jumped into position, centered on the three Star Destroyers. The fleet was very much sticking its neck out, and the Separatists knew it and Admiral Der pounced on them, knowing that a full Republic task force was a worthy kill. Forty-two ships, centered on three Providence Destroyers with nine Resucant Light Destroyers and thirty Munificents headed towards them in full force. They knew what to do, engage and destroy the Republic fleet.

But the Republic forces had a trap in store. A swarm of a thousand T-42 F-Wings and Y-Wings came jumping into orbit with weapons prepared. Ion torpedoes were loosed in long range volleys from the Y-Wings before the enemy fleet could scramble its fighters. Dozens impacted, sending energy pulses across their foes' ships that cut off their engines and the fleet began to drift lazily in space as their disabled droid crews tried to recover. Then the Republic Task Force opened fire. Leading the advance the Venators and the Acclamators with their own cruisers and corvettes alongside began spewing blue turbolaser and laser bolts into the vulnerable fleet. Explosions wrecked the fleet, wiping out every ship one by one.

Having accomplished this two more Republic Task Forces, Task Forces 4 and 5, jumped in alongside, bringing up the total number of Republic ships to forty-eight. It seemed obvious to the Confederates what had just transpired, the Republic Volunteer Corps had laid one of its starfighter swarm traps, a tactic for which they were well known to have mastered. Now they were ready to launch their assault.

A much larger fleet jumped into orbit now, this one numbering over two hundred ships with the remaining twenty-seven Providence Class present and accounted-for. Their massive numerical superiority wasn't overkill, it was simply tactical prudence. In the middle of this fleet was the Battleship Kiroh the flagship of Der herself. Before them were forty-eight RVC warships, sticking out against the blue gas giant to their right flank as the Separatist fleet approached them. The RVC ships turned and began lighting their engines at full burn, running away at the flank speed of their slowest ships, the Acclamators.

"We caught them by surprise," Der said as she watched the mix of ships turn to flee.

"I calculate that they had anticipated the original sortie fleet to be all that had been facing them," her tactical droid said calmly.

"And now they need to buy time to make the jump to hyperspace," Admiral Der said in return, nodding at the sense this made, "We can cripple the RVC here and now. All ships make flank speed, cut off their escape. Battleship to maintain position at Harrin, be ready if they send the rest of their fleet to rescue them. Fire when in range!"

"Roger roger."

She heard the rumble of the big Federation battleship accelerate and push its engines to the maximum they could go. The young Admiral was chomping at the bit to get even for her own losses over the past week, and these poor RVC ships trying to keep their distance were just what she was hoping for, a sizeable chunk of the Volunteer Corps' forces for her to chew up. As her fleet gave chase she noted on her readout that the Separatist fleet was now over the original position of the RVC ships, and passed it off without much thought, amazing herself with the speed of these behemoths.

"Incoming fire!" Der heard one of her OOM droids call out from its station and looked out the window to see that the RVC ships in front of them were doing no such thing.

Then she saw blue turbolaser bolts striking her ships' flanks from the left. And then she saw it, a speckled assortment of red ships bursting from the clouds of the glowing gas giant. They were firing their full arsenals with the Venators leading the charge. And low and behold the nightmare came to pass when the massive nose of one last mammoth ship cut through the atmosphere and revealed itself in space with its thousand turbolasers firing on her ships. The Kiroh shook as the Basilisk itself targeted her ship while she watched several frigates and light destroyers explode or fracture from concentrated turbolaser volleys. With impacts sending explosions from the hulls of her tougher Carrier-Destroyers she knew this was no small affair.

"It's him! Reinforcements now!" Der ordered, "Destroyers turn and engage those Reds!"

The Providence Class ships heeled over in perfect linear formation while a large number of other ships continued on towards the initial bait fleet of "Reds" that was now coming about and firing turbolasers as swarms of starfighters came pouring from the hangar bays of the Republic ships. Red and blue turbolasers and lasers streaked at one another and smashed into fully powered frontal shields. Then her reinforcements arrived, a hundred and fifty more ships based around her main battle squadron of twelve battleships. She had expected Drexel to attempt to engage, but the flanking move was new and had crippled at least a dozen of her ships within view.

"Now we finish this Drexel."

Location: Star Destroyer Dauntless

"All fighters launch!"

Teela Abya pushed her F-Wing straight out of the hangar and zoomed out into the open space as she saw a CR90 fly directly over the Dauntless with laser cannons firing into the swarms of Vulture Droids that came flying at the RVC fleet. She fell into the formation of other fighters and bombers that was joining the massive dogfight now sweeping through the battle space.

"Engage those fighters and cut a hole to their capital ships," her squadron leader called out as Silver Squadron joined up and began engaging.

Teela locked onto a three Vulture droids and loosed three missiles which smashed into the fighters as they closed on another flight of F-Wings entering the fray from the Basilisk's launch bays. The young pilot knew her kill total would be magnified after this battle if she survived and dove into the fray, firing away and maneuvering her nimble starfighter as the squadron jumped a formation of Hyena Droid Bombers and blew them away. She looked around and saw nothing but a spreading swarm of starfighters now starting to intermingle with the bigger ships that slugged it out with others of their size or picked off fighters at their leisure, as was the case with the CR90's protecting their capital ships.

Things took a darker turn when she saw a line of explosions from a volley of turbolasers rip up an Arquitens light cruiser and CR90 next to it had one of its engines blown out. Turbolasers struck the larger ships whose shields could take the damage. Then she noticed something, the enemy's battleships had arrived and now the RVC was far more outnumbered than they had liked to be.

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk

"Enemy battleships have jumped into orbit!"

"Signal our reinforcements," Drexel nodded to his communications officer as the Basilisk shook slightly from a few harmless impacts near the bridge.

Drexel looked out towards the enemy fleet and knew what was coming. And he saw them jump in almost simultaneously and open fire with their massive armaments. Five Imperator-Class Star Destroyers entered the systems with guns blazing, right at the unprotected rears of the Separatist battleships. An almost visual stream of blue heavy turbolaser bolts from octuple turbolaser mounts on the five ships began tearing apart the rears of the enemy battleships that had left themselves open to attack from the rear. The real trap had been sprung.

Admiral Drexel had known that a dozen Separatist Battleships was simply too much for his relatively small fleet. While he knew he could out muscle most large enemy fleets with the Basilisk and his star destroyers he would need something specifically designed to slug it out with battleships. That something came in the form of the first five of the prototype Block II Imperator-Class Star Destroyers. These 1,600 meter long monsters hadn't been designed primarily as carriers the way the Venators had been, but had a much heavy turbolaser armament with the eight new prototype Octuple Barbette Turbolaser Turrets forming the backbone of the ships' long range firepower. They had the firepower of at least three Venators, meaning a single one of them could wipe the floor with as many as fifteen CIS frigates all by themselves. Yet here, there were five of them, and they were drawing first blood for their class.

"Enemy battleships are suffering heavy damage, enemy fleet has halted its advance."

Drexel watched from the window as one of the battleships detonated and blew off one of its rings in a colossal slow-motion explosion. He nodded silently as he watched his fleet engaging the Providence Class Destroyers' battle line. His Y-Wings had deployed and were now smashing the ships one by one alongside his heavier warships. Both sides were taking a pounding, he'd already lost a couple light cruisers and six corvettes had been destroyed. But the majority of the fire was directed against his bigger ships. These were taking damage, and one had already been crippled.

But the Basilisk was now showing its sheer power, and carved through three Providence-Class Destroyers trying to engage it, shattering all three as it swatted away frigates that tried their luck and lost. Swarms of Vulture Droids were being chased back to their motherships that were now trying to break off and he knew that he had won this battle, but his victory was such that the Imperators had jumped in and blocked the 19th Task Group's only escape route. They were pinned to the planet and the spreading RVC fleet that was rounding them together like cattle.

Location: Battleship Kiroh

"Status?!" Der snapped, watching the fleet dissolve in front of her as she tried to get it to escape.

"We're cut off, those Republic ships have cut off our hyperspace jump point," her navigation droid stated quickly.

"Pull the destroyers back and redeploy to face those ships, all fighters withdraw to protect the fleet," she ordered quickly but then she was thrown from where she had been by an explosion below the bridge. She struck her elbow against a control console and shattered, giving herself an electric burn and dislodged many of the decorative ceiling panels and some of the lights.

A volley of fire from the Basilisk had damaged the battleship and crippled it. Sparks and fires flashed from the damaged consoles as Admiral Der tried to gain her footing on her captain's chair. But the ship shook violently and she fell to the ground again, holding her burned arm where the tattered blue uniform held her remaining sleeve up. Her hair was disheveled and she was in a great deal of pain. The Admiral was helped to her feet by a pair of Super Battle Droids as her tactical droid stood in front of her, calm as ever.

"Admiral, you must leave the bridge, the Basilisk is targeting it directly, I calculate one more volley will destroy it."

She simply nodded as a medical droid arrived and she was tended to as the droid bridge crew continued working, directing the remaining shipboard batteries to target its enemy from the start, that damned red dreadnought.

"What happened?" she wheezed out as the two Supers entered the turbolift with her in between them.

The trip to the backup bridge, deeper into the core of the ship away from the outer hull took several minutes normally, but with her injury and what she assumed to have been a concussion thanks to the doctor droid hovering over her it took far longer. But when she did arrive she was in no shape to continue to command the fleet.

"Admiral, as your personal aid I am taking command of the fleet," her tactical droid said firmly after a scan from the medical droid told him all he needed to know about what was happening with her.

"No, I can…" she mumbled out as the ship violently shook again.

"You are unfit to continue the battle, take her to medical."

"No, it's over, we've lost."

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk

"Enemy flagship is disabled Admiral," Commander Vay stated proudly.

"When all enemy ships are destroyed or disabled send a boarding party, we'll need to gather what intelligence we can."

"Sir, the battle's over, the enemy fleet's gone, all their battleships are destroyed or disabled and all their cruisers are destroyed. The rest are retreating into hyperspace," the man stated without hesitation, marveling at the work the RVC had just done.

"Not for our pilots it's not, still a lot of Vulture Droids roaming around."

"It could have been worse Admiral, the CR90's managed to blunt their squadrons until we got them deployed. We've only lost about eight hundred fighters," the captain of the Basilisk shrugged.

"Only?" Vay snapped

"We could've lost a lot more. The enemy pulled their fighters back way too soon, it cost them," Drexel nodded as he looked out at the enemy fleet floating dead in space around them, "How many ships did this cost us?"

"We lost nine corvettes, two light cruisers, a carrier, and we might have to write off the Star Destroyer Justice, they're having trouble with her damage control. Just about every other ship in the fleet has suffered damage of some kind except for the Imperators," Vay counted out.

"Those beasts saved our asses today. I'll bet you the Republic will be placing some major orders for those ships pretty soon."

After a half hour more time of mopping up semi-disabled enemy ships and hunting down enemy starfighters the battle was over and a boarding party was indeed dispatched to the Kiroh, which had sat there rotating helplessly in space before the Republic fleet, barely intact. When the white and red armored troopers breached the airlock a handful of battle droids met them, and with a couple wounded in the subsequent firefight the RVC troopers began to search the ship. One squad worked its way towards what their schematics told them was a medical room, there they hoped that any biological crew or possibly the commander would be alive and captured. They saw a pair of B2 Super Battle Droids with a few B1's ready to defend the room so they knew they were in the money.

"Droid popper out," their squad leader called out and tossed the EMP device into the droid ranks where it went off, and the droids seized up and then dropped to the ground.

The troops then rushed the door, blowing it open without hesitation. They forcefully entered the room, and saw a trio of medical droids hovering over a cot with a blue-uniformed woman on it, a bandage around her head and left arm. She saw them and knew that there was no escaping this without dying at the hands of the enemy. In a formal act of military honor she pulled out her blaster pistol and tossed it away, shaking her head in dismay.

"May I speak to Admiral Drexel?" she asked calmly, causing the troopers to look at one another in confusion.

But their squad leader got the call from the man himself and pulled out a holotransmitter and placed it on the ground. There the full image of Admiral Cynan Drexel stood tall and proud looking at Admiral Der. His brow furrowed as he recognized her but didn't quite place the face to a name.

"I formally offer my surrender sir," Der stated firmly.

"It is accepted, Admiral."

"You might not…remember me, but you were one of my instructors at the War College a few years ago. I was the first person from my planet to be accepted there," Der mentioned as she hoped for a bit of remembrance from Drexel, a man she'd placed on a pedestal.

"I think I remember you. Cadet Der wasn't it? You were a good student," Drexel said, remembering her after hearing a bit of background to jog his memory.

"Not good enough apparently."

"I taught my cadets well, but I didn't teach you everything."

 **Well, I'm proud of that. How's that for the first combat experience for a true powerhouse of the Empire? I am proud to say that I got this battle done within a day, and I hope I can get a follow-on chapter done soon. There's gonna be some fallout from this. And we have a big land battle to do now don't we?**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The siege continues with Clones and Volunteers fighting for survival.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Location: Jedi Cruiser Resolute, Republic Navy Massing Point in Deep Space

"And with the destruction of this Separatist fleet the final obstacle to the outer rim via the Corellian Trade Spire is gone, Republic Volunteer Corps forces are now free to advance as far as Bespin. There are reports that some worlds have already declared their intention to surrender to the Republic rather than risk invasion from the RVC," the voice of Erik Syno declared proudly on the holonet transmission on the bridge of the Resolute.

"Well, certainly didn't expect this," Anakin Skywalker said with his arms crossed.

"Indeed, the volunteer forces under Admiral Drexel are certainly more formidable than we had previously estimated," Obi Wan nodded in response, "Almost hard to believe."

"I spoke with Drexel not too long after they destroyed the 19th Task Group. He confirmed to me personally that it was as crushing a victory as the reports are saying," Yularen stated to the two Jedi.

"Which means in roughly two and a half weeks they'd destroyed almost a thousand enemy ships, and taken four strategically important worlds and a dozen other minor ones in the process," Ahsoka accurately surmised.

"That gives even you a run for your money old friend," Obi Wan teased Anakin.

"We'll see, they now have to exploit their victory," Anakin reminded his old master.

"That might be difficult, the commanding admiral of the 19th Task Group deployed their full ground forces before they engaged the RVC fleet. The RVC has more than four million droids to deal with now on Harrin," Yularen reported, "Drexel's deploying his whole army, four hundred and twenty thousand troops, in an attempt to retake the planet."

"They're outnumbered ten to one, that's a lot of droids," Ahsoka responded.

"Yes commander it is, but they are confident that their front, which stretches along the main river near the capital, will hold and blunt the droid attacks," Commander Cody stated firmly.

"Well Cody, can they hold it?" Obi Wan asked.

"We'll see sir," Cody shrugged, "They proved they could take us on, so give them good ground and I'm sure they could."

"I particularly liked that bit of Separatist propaganda their lancer troops butted in on. The boys have been watching that all day," Rex laughed from behind Anakin, "Oh, sorry sir."

"I liked it too," Anakin reassured his Clone friend, "Master, you had to enjoy seeing that. What with you being an honorary lancer yourself."

"I took a few lessons from the Anaxes Knights on their preferred fighting style. It is good to see a much more...civilized manner of war still used to such, perfection," Obi Wan mused aloud, reflecting on the one time on Muunilist he'd led Clone Lancer Troopers into battle.

He himself didn't like blasters, or flying. But the lance and sword, that was a weapons combo that Kenobi had great admiration for. It took years of training and discipline for a person to become as skilled with those as such people as the Jedi and Anaxes Knights. It was what Kenobi termed a more civilized way of fighting.

"So, do you think these...lancers and the rest of their forces will hold?" Anakin asked Kenobi.

"They might have to, with the search on for some new Separatist weapon in the area we won't be able to provide any sort of help."

"What does that mean master?" Ahsoka asked, not quite getting what Obi Wan was getting at.

"It means the volunteers are on their own."

Location: Near the Bridge over the Axii River, Planet Harrin

"Incoming!"

Another explosion rocked their pillbox with them inside, ducking to prevent being hit by shrapnel. Wyatt and Eva hadn't had much rest since the attacking droids began their assault. The columns of droids with AAT's covering them had kept coming. Smoke from fires lit by incoming HAG artillery strikes coated the RVC line on the ridge. But it was now home to an additional three companies from their battalion, meaning the whole battalion was up on the ridge, creating a much denser defensive line for them to defend. However they hadn't been truly prepared for the massive attack coming their way.

"Oh come on!" Eva yelled as she smashed her fist against the sandbag on which she placed her DLT-18's bipod and began to aim for targets.

"Another kriffing division?" Wyatt yelled as he aimed at the lines of droids coming down the hills across from the fields towards the river, this time, being led by Techno Union Enforcer Droids Tanks, Snail Tanks for short.

"Oh they've got tracked ones this time," Eva groaned as she aimed and waited for their artillery and rocket artillery to start off the battle.

The numerous blue flamed rockets rained down onto the droid tanks, smashing the first ranks into oblivion as the droid infantry also took its fair share of casualties. The field was already a wreckage-strewn junkyard. With hardly a place where a destroyed droid of armored vehicle hadn't been. Fires burned on the enemy vehicles that hadn't been retrieved by enemy recovery vehicles and black smoke choked the sky. Fires had burnt out for the most part on the RVC line where the trees of the orchard had been put out and the grass blown away. But a few T1-APC's and T4-A tanks had been destroyed and burned long and hot where they lay.

Artillery from the rear of the RVC line now opened fire, and the blue shells crashed into the enemy lines, further damaging the field of craters and destroyed droids. Starfighters and bombers strafed and bombed the advance lines as more charging droids and vehicles came at Wyatt and Eva. But enemy anti-aircraft fire was thick, and downed several red-painted fighters in the past day. The enemy's own rear was shielded from attack like theirs was. Their dropships provided a great deal of aid, firing volleys of rockets on large-scale strafing runs on the gathering enemy forces through screens of Vulture Droids that would shoot them down whenever F-Wings couldn't get there in time. All-in-all, Wyatt and Eva were viewing the largest ground battle that the RVC had ever partaken in.

"Open fire!"

"We know…" Eva growled as she laid into her repeating blaster and send rapid fire blue rounds downrange at the enemy lines.

Wyatt had done likewise, and with his scope he began picking off droid after droid, blowing away B1's with little difficulty after taking several shots to bring down the supers. The red blaster bolts of the enemy droids smashed into their lines and occasionally scared the two troopers witless when one struck their sandbags or entered through the thin holes they'd left for themselves. Enemy artillery and tank rounds hammered their positions, a shell struck to their immediate front right, blowing a steaming hole in the ground so close they felt the concussion through their duracrete pillbox. But they kept fighting, blasting away as the endless droid blocks grew closer and closer as explosions rippled through the rear enemy lines while the tanks focused on the close-in fighting. A Snail Tank focused its fire on them after Wyatt decided he wanted to take out one of its comrade's eyes and succeeded in drawing the attention of the one that fired six blasts of its heavy cannons into their pillbox and blew away the dirt in front of them and on top of the bunker.

"Keep it up! They're slowing down!" Lieutenant Yuno said over the comms as the droids got within fifty meters of the river.

The RVC troopers kept firing, knowing they had to hold their lines or else get overwhelmed forced back into open terrain. The blue bolts cut away hundreds of droids, and blew apart the remaining vehicles, sending smoke billowing up into the air from the fiery explosions hitting the easily destroyed Snail Tanks. A few droids tried taking cover and get more nimble once enough of their friends had fallen, but that didn't help them very much as the RVC position was still strong. All the while mortars began falling on top of the enemy forces, blowing small craters and blew open the droid ranks if they gathered at all, and a few landed on top of vehicles, adding them to the numerous ones already damaged or destroyed. The second line of enemy forces, this time more numerous made it alongside them as they fired up at the ridgeline and the RVC forces kept firing back, trying to keep the droids from getting down to the road and then into the water where they would cross the river and begin attacking.

But when the third wave reinforced the attacking droids they began advancing in force down the steep cliff to the road. Many of the battle droids grasped onto the Snail Tank's sides, each holding a dozen of them as they crashed into the water and began crossing under the river. Wyatt fired a grenade at one as it plummeted into the water and missed, smashing a section of droid infantry. He quickly reloaded but winced as the tank splashed down into the water alongside others while droid infantry began jumping down as well and began crossing.

"Shit, they're on top of us!"

All of them fired at the droids still on the other side that were streaming towards them and waited for the Snail Tanks to crest the hill and the rocketeers and grenadiers waited for them to show themselves. Wyatt quickly reloaded his Viper grenade launcher and waited for an enemy tank to show itself. His target was a soft one for the powerful weapon he had at his disposal. Immediately upon being ready to fire again he saw the antennae of one pop up to his right as it climbed the hill. Without saying a word he yanked Eva down and poked his blaster out and fired at the top of the droid tank as it crested and the grenade blew a hole in the side of the vehicle and severed its main central track. The vehicle stopped and began rolling backwards from the blow, dead. But battle droids came marching over the summit and opened fire at close range.

Now the RVC troopers took casualties, with their lines increased in density many fireteams had to create forward fighting positions that they had covered with logs and dirt alongside the concrete pillboxes of their comrades. But the droids were accurate at this close range and the defenders were distracted by many of the Snail Tanks breaching their perimeter, and blowing them apart if they could. Another Snail Tank came crashing over the lip of the ridge and fired into the wooden bunker that was in between Wyatt and Eva's fireteam's pillboxes. The four troopers inside it were either killed or wounded before a rocket silenced the enemy vehicle before the battle droids crested the hill.

"Shit!" Eva yelled as she strafed her fire along the line of enemy droids that was attacking them.

"Down!" Wyatt warned as he yanked her down, seeing a rocket launching super battle droid firing a rocket at their bunker.

The rocket exploded against their sandbag barrier, blowing a wave of canvas and dirt into the interior along with a shrapnel cloud they'd both just gotten away from by ducking against the wall beneath the firing slit. But they were both blown backwards against the back wall and Eva was quick to recover and tossed a thermal detonator out of the hole and an explosion blasted away the droids immediately in front of their bunker.

"Get up Wyatt!" she said to Wyatt as she placed herself back at the now more exposed slit and fired away.

"Fall back! Fall back!"

"Eva fall back!" Wyatt said as he grabbed her as she picked off a few more droids.

Both of them scrambled out of the back of the pillbox and into the open to see that a burning RVC tank was in the fighting position to the right and another was backing away as other members of the company were retreating through the deep trenches as droids advanced at heavy cost. Wyatt came out of the bunker first and bashed a B1's legs that was standing on the ground to the side of their bunker with the butt of his rifle. The droid fell and he stomped it into the mud, snapping its head off. A shower of sparks and a B2's carcass falling from behind him let him know that Eva ha just saved him.

"Come on!" their fireteam leader, Corporal Arne, yelled from the more covered trenches as other members pulled back.

The two young troopers sprinted back, staying hunched over in the trenchline as they joined their other comrades who were pulling back. They saw a pair of troopers, one helping their wounded comrade, emerging from a bunker further down get cut down by droids that fired down onto them. Wyatt and Eva immediately avenged them by blasting the four B1's responsible. But they had to pull back again into another row of trenches.

"Hold here!" Lieutenant Yuno himself said as he scrambled to get his troopers into position to return to fire from good cover and took up position at the corner of the trench that the enemy droids were now down inside of and were popping out and firing at them as they tried advancing.

"You okay guys?" Corporal Arne asked as he checked up on them.

"We're good Corporal," Wyatt nodded breathlessly.

"Delta Company, take back the bunkers, we're counterattacking," the comms called out as Yuno as he took out a droid popper and tossed it out and a couple other troopers did likewise.

The grenades went off, and the handful of droids in the trench flashed with electricity and collapsed to the muddy floor as the troopers charged. Yuno himself led the way, but a grenadier behind took a shot directly to the chest and lurched back and fell into the puddle on the bottom of the trench as the rest of the troopers moved up.

Wyatt followed Arne and Faye, their rifleman, as a couple fireteams charged over the open ground and dove to their bellies in front of the first trenches and fired relentlessly into the droids below. A few tanks rushed forward, firing into the few enemy tanks that had pushed forward into the trees, shattering the enemy vehicles. Wyatt fired into a few supers that tried coming around the corner of the trench that appeared just a few feet away within the trench. But he had his weapon grabbed by one of them and then his helmet as he was dragged into the trench and slammed down. But Eva and Faye jumped the super on the right and the droid fell to the ground as both girls fired blaster pistols into the droid's heavy armor. But the second raised its arm to fire at them and Wyatt took his chance to save his friends.

He instinctively grabbed the nearest available object, a shovel, a standard issue one with a vibroblade head for cutting roots. He jumped up and grabbed the arm of the larger droid and pushed it back against the trench wall and both slid back in the slick mud and fell onto the ground next to a smaller destroyed B1 laying in a muddy puddle. Though the splash of mud got on his visor he smashed his shovel into the droid's chest, heavily denting the head and armored chest of the droid. But the gray battle droid fought back, smashing his helmet with a punch from its other hand. This knocked Wyatt back, almost off of the droid and freed up the target for Arne who fired down into the droid.

"Thanks," Wyatt said with a nod as Arne jumped down and grabbed his rifle.

"That's it," Arne nodded, and the group began looking around, breathing deeply as they tried catching their breath after such a vicious battle, "Good job," he said, patting Wyatt on the shoulder.

Wyatt just nodded, listening to the more distant explosions and groans and cries of the wounded that were more nearby as medics began scrambling around to get to anyone calling for help. It was becoming a common occurrence now, here on the front on Harrin. They were fighting against a truly massive enemy force, as the open space in front of them showed. As Wyatt and Eva went to the semi-ruined bunker in search of the troopers from their squad that were in it they could see a dotting of burning or smoking Separatist vehicles and the dots of thousands of battle droids. It was at least a hundred tanks burning out there, yet it was just another attack repulsed.

It was the second time they'd had to retake their own bunkers, but the tanks were a new twist that had cost them pretty dearly. The two troopers had to help get two lightly wounded members of their squad out of the ruins of their wooden and dirt bunker. The third was dead, having been hit almost directly by the blast from the enemy tank. Thankfully the fourth was alright and the other two were patched up and stayed on the line. After that was done they helped clear out the droids they'd blasted or beaten into submission and threw them down the slope to join many others. The Snail Tanks were shoved over the edge by T1-APC's, creating a growing obstacle for enemy droids and vehicles to pass should they get close enough again. With that done the two troopers returned to their bunker, and placed what sandbags they had left on the top of the slit and began cleaning their weapons.

"How many this time?" Eva asked, not wanting to check the company roster.

"Nineteen wounded, eight dead," Wyatt said quietly as he took his pressurized air canister and blew away the dirt and grime on his blaster rifle.

"How many in total now?"

"Twenty…six, twenty-six dead. Most of the wounded will back I think," Wyatt shrugged, not wanting to think about their company-mates they'd lost.

"Hope those droids are finally running out of stuff to throw at us," she said as she looked out at the setting sun, knowing that there was very likely going to be a bombardment or a raid by STAP's.

"They're droids, they never run out," Corporal Arne said as he walked into the bunker.

"Hey, wipe your feet," Eva reminded him, pointing at a wooden board she'd burned the words 'Go Away' into.

"You two okay? Saw your bunker take a rocket."

"We're okay," Wyatt nodded, "You guys?"

"I've only got a couple more rockets left, aside from that we're okay."

"How's the rest of the line holding up?" Eva asked now.

"Scuttlebutt says we're taking the bulk of the hits for the legion, the Clones down there are taking a pounding too and had to withdraw across the bridge and folded in with the 1st Legion's lines," Arne said in response, "Everywhere else…who knows. They don't tell us much."

"Squad leaders, platoon meeting," the comms called out.

"I don't think I wanna know what that means," Arne groaned.

"Sounds like we're going across if I were to guess."

"I personally wouldn't mind taking the fight to them," Eva said aloud as the sun fully set.

Then a red series of waves came over the hills once more as batteries of HAG's opened fire trying to bombard their line once again.

"Incoming!" Wyatt yelled and sure enough a couple other troopers ducked into their duracrete bunkers as Wyatt and Eva made room for them by diving into their square room below where they slept and took cover from bombardment.

They both got down against the walls sitting up next to each other as explosions rattled the lines once more. It was as heavy as ever, and to pass the time the two troopers pulled out a classic game of theirs that they'd been playing since the start of this ordeal, a roll-up dartboard that hung on the wall across from them with six magnetic darts in red and blue. Outside they heard the firing of friendly artillery doing some counter-battery work trying to catch the enemy out in the open as usual. Sometimes they won, sometimes the enemy got away. But the enemy usually got away, retreating under the cover of their own shield.

The ground shook as waves of fire hit their lines. The Taanab troopers took cover in their small duracrete bunkers below ground to wait out the artillery bombardment which could last for an hour or more. It was as rough as war got for troops that had already been through the ringer all day. But they'd have to. But within the hour expectation the bombardment ended, and both young farmers took their helmets off and relaxed.

"Another failed attempt by the big guns?" Wyatt asked rhetorically.

"By both sides," Eva confirmed as she pulled out her canteen.

"Sometimes I hate shield generators," Wyatt sighed indignantly.

"As long as it's ours we don't."

"Doesn't do us much good right here now does it?" Wyatt reminded her.

"Right…hey Wyatt, thanks," Eva said hesitantly.

"That super had to be dealt with eventually, no need," he brushed off.

"No I mean…for everything. You've always been there, through training, through the fighting, never really said how much that meant. It's been pretty hard," Eva said quietly.

"Well you've done the same for me haven't you?" Wyatt replied.

"Because you did for me."

"I guess…you're welcome?"

"Yeah, close enough," she said with a laugh, patting his leg as she decided to lay down.

"Two hours of rest," Arne said from his pillbox, and walked in, "After that we attack."

Location: Executive Building, Planet Coruscant

The reports were astounding to Chancellor Palpatine. He hadn't expected the RVC to perform so well in their engagements against the Separatists. Yet here were intelligence reports saying things that he wouldn't have even bothered to imagine. Separatist chatter was heavy with talk about how to counter the RVC should they engage on another front. The Jedi themselves were curious about the potential of bringing the other six Kuati dreadnoughts out of the core to engage on hard-pressed fronts. And chief among his reports were senators that wanted to get the RVC enlarged and folded in with the larger Republic military.

But that couldn't happen, he simply couldn't trust these volunteer soldiers to do what was needed when the time came. He simply couldn't say that he wanted nothing to do with what had quickly become the most impactful combat unit the Republic had. However there were options available to him in dealing with the RVC so that he appeared to support them and their efforts in contributing to the fight against the Separatists. There was one set of options available to him that he did like, it would give the founders of the RVC what it wanted but give Palpatine what he needed and provide a testing ground for the future under the command of competent and gifted officers, officers that weren't Jedi.

He knew he needed to contact these senators of the War Party, a militarily minded caucus in the Senate that had first-hand connections with the RVC and had a hand in creating this force. If he threw his weight in behind them along with the needed funding bill for new clones his status as being competent in pursuing victory in the war, rather than elongating it as he really planned, would be assured. And for now, what was politically needed was what he needed to do. It was that simple. First, he would need to speak with the Jedi.

 **Well, that laid some groundwork didn't it? I'm really feeling this story right now guys, I'm on a roll and having fun doing it. So, on to a question or two for you guys.**

 **Are you guys at all attached to the name Republic Volunteer Corps? And if you are fine with a future name change what would you guys name the RVC if it were to be fully integrated into the larger Republic military?**

 **Would you guys like to see Sato show up as a member of the RVC?**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The siege continues, and the RVC finds an unlikely ally.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk

The fleet over the planet was holding firm. The Separatists hadn't bothered attacking them again ever since the RVC had wiped the floor with each CIS fleet they'd come across. The news was ringing with the success of the battle of Harrin with the images of the Basilisk carving up enemy ships circulating through the Holonet. Numerous diplomatic envoys had arrived in orbit to discuss the loyalty of their home worlds with the intention of preventing a massive invasion of their worlds and a possible bombardment. Fear of the firepower of the lone Mandator-Class Dreadnought was putting the formerly Separatist aligned worlds in their place.

Diplomats may have taken issue with this, but to military men like Drexel, he couldn't care less. If he could intimidate his enemy into surrender that meant that his forces wouldn't be expended and exhausted fighting and dying. Victory through intimidation was a classic Kuati tactic. In the past just the thought of one of their dreadnoughts being so much as prepared to deploy to a trouble zone would force the troubled area or planet to completely subdue itself. In the Stark Hyperspace War there was a fear in the Core of the Stark fleet moving into the inner rim and colonies. So the Basilisk was deployed further out to deter them, and it worked. The Starks never considered an incursion core-ward lest a Mandator decided it felt like destroying them. It was just the theoretical threat they posed that kept trouble at bay, but now, it was a very real promise if the Basilisk came at them.

So, the RVC knew exactly what it was going to be doing once Harrin was secured. It would move South, and quell the rebellious worlds that sat there. But there was an issue. While the enemy fleet in the region was absolutely obliterated and no longer a credible threat the RVC was actually starting to feel some logistical strain. Their ships and starfighter squadrons had been in a constant state of combat and launching raids for the better part of three weeks. The results were very much in their favor, but their squadrons were starting to fall in their overall strength. Munitions had been expended to half of what they had started with. All of their ships had taken noticeable damage in their desperate battle, and their ground troops weren't as numerous as they needed to be to pacify the entire sector.

Admiral Drexel stood before a map of Harrin and waited for the coming offensive that his Legions would be launching in the next hour. This battle would determine their strategy going forward. While their ships had proven to be extremely deadly opponents his ground troops had no such reputation thus far. So far they'd only really held their ground. On the ground he had his overall commander of ground troops, General Iber Lann. The hard-nosed Anaxes general was as good as they'd came. He was of a proud Anaxes Knight lineage and wore the armor proudly with the cape of a master flowing at all times. Lann was no-nonsense, aggressive, and pragmatic, and had come to see the action on Harrin as a personal test for himself. To him, this battle was a personal test of his ability to lead the RVC Army and he refused to let this devolve into a stalemate, stating that the Army had win in the same clear manner as the Navy did.

"How long?" Drexel asked.

"Fifty minutes sir, and the commandoes will be in position."

"Very well. Have we accurately estimated the strength of those shield generators?" Drexel asked.

"Yes sir," Commander Vay nodded, "The seismic charges General Lann asked for will certainly destroy their facilities and their landing craft that support their forces. The Caridans' plan is…unorthodox at best, but it seems like it might work."

"Hit the shield generators, wipe out their overhead protection, and then artillery and airstrikes level their bases and the rest of the army advances and mops up. It'll be a helluva show."

"Erik Syno and his cameras are down there, waiting for the artillery to open fire."

Location: Bridge over the River Axii, Planet Harrin

"Captain Titus you have the honor of first assault," General Lann said calmly, "As Champion you have to the men across the bridge. The Clones will be behind you with their heavy walkers and the rest of the legion will follow behind you."

"Yes sir," Titus nodded, looking out at the bridge, "We'll have to be quick, the droids have a lot of tanks."

"They'll be dealt with," a brown-marked Clone Commander named Ranch said calmly, pointing at the bridge, "Our walkers will cover you as your Knights cross."

"Very well," Titus nodded respectfully, "The bridge is pretty large, enough for two columns."

"Right then, our walkers will advance on the right side," Ranch said calmly, adjusting his dark kama and pauldron, "Your tanks will advance alongside us, you're faster and your forces need speed to pull this attack off."

"The artillery is in range as of now, it's at maximum but we are ready," Lann informed them and looked down at his countdown timer, "We have to get ready. Get to your positions."

Location: Behind Separatist Lines

Commando Team Dagger was ready for action, its strength was split between four separate enemy bases. The unit had its assault platoons maneuvering into position with each of them having one of their men holding their secret weapons, seismic charges that each team were supposed to launch at the enemy bases from within the shield domes. They knew what to do, their plan was simple and efficient.

All of them were creeping forward through the farms and forest of the backcountry towards the enemy bases. Leading 2nd Platoon Colonel Myec was looking forward to this operation, mostly because it had been of his own design. He moved forward, with operators to his left and right with his A280 tucked to his shoulder. He and the rest were moving one foot at a time, careful not to make noise. They'd started off moving through the irrigation canals and streams, sticking to the water and staying beneath it for the most part.

Now, with the teams moving into their launch positions Myec stopped and with pointer and middle finger pointed up he circled his hand around and saw everyone else silently copying him as the team spread out and secured a perimeter. He then pointed to the team carrying the rocket propelled seismic charge and the launch ramp assembly. It was an ad hoc and pieced together piece of kit, with a concussion missile guidance package and rocket booster to steer the warhead manually towards its target. To get the missiles in the air the Commandos had constructed a simple ramp to lift them up into the air and the guidance package would send the powerful weapons at their targets. The Commandos holding these things began setting everything up, and were ready to fire within a few moments.

"All stations this net, Dagger-6, report fire status," Colonel Myec whispered into his commlink.

"Dagger-1, green."

"Dagger-2, green."

"Dagger-3, green."

Myec nodded appreciatively, knowing his team was ready to fire.

"Command, Dagger-6, Dagger is green to fire. Awaiting orders."

With his check in complete Myec checked his next objective, a thin valley where his team was to maneuver and prevent a retreat by droid forces so the main body could finish them. It was a quick jetpack ride over and they'd hold the village that the only road in the area passed through. Other Caridan Commando Teams had their own objectives for steering the enemy away from retreating. But their enemy units were numerous and quite heavily armed, it was going to be tough if the regulars didn't destroy them immediately. However Myec's team was more than willing to get their hands dirty.

"All Teams, prepare to fire."

The commando units were primed and ready to let loose, and the countdown timers on their warheads were triggered. As the countdown timer was about to fire they ducked away from the stands holding the rockets and waited for their engines to ignite. With a blast of heat and flame the four foot long missiles fired, and arched into the air. They flew up in an arching smoke column and then angled down at groups of walled C-9979-built outposts. The shield generators in each outpost with the intact C-9979's were the primary targets, with each blast aimed at a specific point so the blast radius hit them all. When the rockets were about to strike home the comms had one word called out from the operational commander of the Caridans' submission.

"Splash."

Blue explosions and compressions preceded the seismic charge exploding, sending out a razor thin blue energy wave that cut through walls, droids, vehicles, and assault craft with little care for what was where. Explosions ripped and tore at the droid outposts as they were obliterated by the rockets that struck all across the droid rear. The shield generators went offline in small explosions as fire lit up the night sky and the pinkish shield domes disappeared and the way was cleared for the RVC concentrated artillery to let loose. The commandos saw the dots of artillery and proton torpedoes light up the night sky right before they turned and moved towards their next objectives.

Location: RVC Frontline, 17th Legion Artillery

"We're here where Republic Volunteer Corps forces have launched a massive frontal assault upon Separatist forces on the planet Harrin," Erik Syno said quickly. His camera was pointing lights at him so the viewers could see him and the artillery behind him fire its opening volley, "You can see behind me a massive artillery barrage is about to begin as special forces have just brought down the shield umbrella protecting droid forces from the RVC's artillery and air power."

Behind him a line T4-H Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces was about to loose its powerful A7V Cannons mounted upon their T4 tank chassis. Their crewmen who were making sure they had the right firing coordinates with a man on the outside of the right side of each vehicle with an old school pull string. They all faced to the right, away from the cannons with the pull string looped around their hands. The drivers and gunners were in the vehicles, and a pair of troopers behind each with the large proton charges stacked in lightly armored boxy speeders behind them ready to reload as needed. There sixteen of these sets of vehicles behind Syno, with another sixteen off to the side and another sixteen T4-R Multiple Launch Rocket Systems with proton torpedoes ready to fire.

Out in front of him he knew the mass of multiple legions were already across the river. The all-Coruscanti legion he was with had another Coruscant legion to their right and a Corellian one to their left. All of them, with their forty-eight artillery pieces ready to rain down hell. In all, one thousand three hundred and forty-four artillery pieces and rocket launchers were prepared to open fire. The moment the pink shields came down, Syno made certain his cameras were in perfect position to see the barrage.

"Fire!" the artillery commander yelled as loud as possible, as Syno had asked him to do for the camera.

"Away!" he heard the gun commander nearest to him yell in response as the man turned his body and yanked the cord and the bright blue flash of the gun fired off and dust rose around the guns as more and more of them fired.

The concussions made Syno glad he had his ear protection on, as his green plant-like form couldn't handle this kind of noise up close, despite the humanoid appearance his species gave off. But he couldn't help but watch in amazement at the massive barrage that began so quickly and with such force. The camera then picked up on massive arches of blue flamed proton torpedoes firing into the air with the glow of their motors illuminating their smoke trails as they flew overhead and then impacted with heavy thuds in the distance. Orange and red lit up the horizon for as far as Erik could see and he was all-too ready to get this report done.

"As you can see," he started but had to stop as the heavy volleys of the Coruscanti battery behind him drowned him out, "The Republic Volunteer Corps has begun their assault. A massive artillery barrage is preceding it and I'll tell you one thing, I've never seen anything quite like it. Those droids are also reported to have RVC Navy Y-Wings dropping proton bombs on their rearmost positions as well, paving the way for armor and infantry to strike the final blow. If you look out in front of us here you can just make out the tanks of the 17th Volunteer Legion advancing towards that low row of hills with infantry and lighter speeder tanks behind them."

He narrated everything he saw, knowing that this was going to find its way onto the news on most planets that broadcast for the Republic. This was simply golden, and he was eating up this opportunity eagerly, making sure he put the raging artillery battery right behind him. The RVC artillerymen rushed about, reloading proton charges. Then all of them saw the squadrons of Y-Wings flew overhead, their red sublight engines glowing in the dark as their bombs dropped over the rear of the Separatist lines with a wave of orange explosions lighting up the horizon. It looked as though their forces were taking every way possible short or orbital bombardment to wreck the droid army and they had just begun.

Location: 3rd Volunteer Legion

The company was leading the advance through the field at a fast run towards the enemy's positions. Wyatt and Eva were moving through the twisted remnants of muddy fields and destroyed droids and vehicles. They moved up under an umbrella of protective fire which lit up the sky and coated them in a ghostly blue light the artillery was so thick. The RVC troopers had coated themselves in webbing that they'd placed leafy branches and grasses around their packs and on their helmets and across their chests.

"Up the hill!" Lieutenant Yuno yelled loudly as the group got to the grassy knoll and the troops broke into a sprint with the tanks alongside them.

The artillery let up at this point, not willing to risk friendly fire casualties. Wyatt and Eva got to the crest of the hill to see a field of destruction in front of them with droids crawling about if they hadn't been obliterated outright. The outpost walls were devastated, and the C-9979's were splintered and on fire. All sort of droid vehicles lay in ruins, on their sides, or in pieces. Like everyone else the two troopers dropped to a knee and fired their blasters down into the droids that were scrambling to form a defense as the tanks blew apart strongpoints that formed amongst the rubble. Wyatt focused his own fire on a nearby MTT that was on fire but trying to get away. However that ended when a tank next to him, fired a twin cannon blast that blew the vehicle onto its side.

"Attack!"

An almighty roar rose from their ranks as they charged, and the combined legion barreled into the Separatist ruins, blasting everything that they could see. Wyatt was followed by Eva, and they quickly saw that the droids themselves had constructed some fortifications. Machine-dug trenches crisscrossed the area in front of them as droids began popping up to fight off the assault, but they were far too few. Wyatt and the others laid into the droids in the trenches with blaster fire as they ran up on them and their devastated earthworks. The RVC troops, in a mad rage jumped into the trenches and began to smash at the droids that didn't get killed by blaster fire or obliterated by artillery with hand to hand fighting.

Wyatt kicked a B1 back against the caved in wall of the trench behind as he was about to jump in and without pausing brought his rifle butt down against the hooked head of the droid and hit over and over again as Eva jumped in as well, smashing it as well until they snapped the head off. The two turned and then scrambled up and over the trenches and stayed with their comrades. All of them saw droid carrying MTT's starting to retreat, pulling out with some of them heavily damaged. It was a taste of victory, and it was exactly what they liked to see. The Delta Company troopers rushed into the ruined C-9979 where an entire force of droids was normally garrisoned, but they only saw that the enemy was gone, destroyed in the bombardment.

"To the ship!" they were ordered by their squad leader, pointing to the open and wrecked C-9979 that had several battle droids guarding some maintenance droids rushing inside.

"Let's get 'em!"

The group charged down the rubble and fired into the open door. Wyatt was the first to get in and blasted a pair of battle droids that guarded the stairs as the maintenance droids ran in panic. He ran into stairs alongside with Eva, but a Super Battle Droid was waiting there and fired down at them and Eva got in the way and was hit in the shoulder pad by one of the blaster bolts and lurched backwards.

"No!" Wyatt yelled and lifted his blaster and fired a grenade from his launcher and shattered the droid up the stairs and charged up the lopsided stairs past the wreckage in pursuit of the rest of the droids.

He got to the main wing level where he saw several battle droids turning to face him, many of them damaged or being repaired. But they still rose to face him. At least two dozen B1's and a few B2's activated and moved at him with blasters raised. He pointed his Viper at the larger of the groups and fired, blasting a massive wall of debris from the group of enemy droids. He then fired fully automatic blaster bolts into the droids on the left and mowed them down as he ducked away. There were a few that tried to raise up from repair tables and hanging from the racks. Without hesitation he began firing into them rapidly, moving quickly in a bloodlust for destruction as the bunny droids and some Separatist astromechs retreated away from him. Without hesitation or pity he destroyed all of the battle droids and then turned to the maintenance droids huddled in the corner, beeping in worry and fear.

Leveled his grenade launcher once more and fired, eliminating all of them at once. He then looked back at the destruction he'd left in his wake, and saw his squad walking in with Eva leading the way, the shoulder pad that had been struck seared and glowing a little bit. They knew what to do

"Wow," Eva smirked as she came next to Wyatt, "Looks like we have a few things to talk about Wyatt."

"I guess so," Wyatt sighed, "Sorry about that."

"You kidding trooper?" Lieutenant Yuno laughed, "I'm putting you in for a commendation for that."

"You don't have to do that sir."

"No you've done a helluva job here trooper. You deserve it," Yuno said patting him on the shoulder.

Location: Commando Team Dagger

The convoy of damaged MTT's with several AAT's and Snail Tanks in escort moved towards the valley leading into the farming village that Commando Team Dagger stationed themselves to block. Each man was hiding in thick tree cover with blasters in a series of overlapping fields of fire. Their commando variant DLT-18's were propped up and ready for action with the Viper grenade launchers under each A280 were prepped with armor piercing rounds and they were prepared for an ambush. Colonel Myec looked at the convoy and counted off the vehicles, counting off two AAT's in the lead and five Snail Tanks on the sides. Twenty-two MTT's were in column, many of them smoking or trickling flame and some of them were missing armor plates. But there were no infantry outside of a eight manned Platoon Attack Craft and a handful of STAP's on the flanks.

"Here they come."

"Count twenty-two transports and seven tanks," Myec informed everyone, "They've got eight PAC's and seventeen STAP's."

"STAP's targeted, PAC's targeted with repeaters."

"They're almost into the killzone," one of the platoon leaders called out.

"Wait for that last MTT to get into range."

The unit waited calmly as they aimed their blasters and repeaters at their targets. They each, in the dark of the night could see the green tinted vehicles in great detail.

"Dagger, take 'em," Colonel Myec ordered.

"Goin' hot."

All across the woods Caridan Commandos rose up and fired into the retreating droid columns and with rocket launchers brought to bear. The rearmost MTT exploded and then another a couple AAT's in the lead of the column exploded as they went over anti-vehicle mines planted by the Caridans. The team moved up against the enemy droids that tried to fire back and with a practiced precision of decades of experience ripped up the droids that tried to deploy.

Colonel Myec himself rose from behind the tree he'd been taking cover. He targeted a STAP and fired quickly into the droid from a few dozen meters away. The droid's vehicle was struck several times before he hit the B1 and the vehicle tumbled to the ground and exploded against the side of a tree. Other STAP's were hit immediately as blaster fire tore into the PAC's. Droids were struck repeatedly as Viper rockets smashed into the vehicles around them. The droids started to deploy as quickly as they could while the commandos moved forward.

Myec moved to the lead of his forces and into the midst of the droids' ranks. With his blaster rifle almost glued to his shoulder he moved his legs robotically into the fray. He fired into the droids he came across and with his operators and methodically destroyed dozens of droids. They all moved to the rear, destroying droids all along the way. It was an easy fight for them, until they saw a line of AAT's retreating right at them.

"Oh crap," Myec groaned.

As the Commandos fell back blue mass driver bolts smashed into the enemy tanks and they all stopped to turn against the Republic vehicles that had fired on them. All of their forces however saw that the large AT-TE's were opening fire on them as they walked over the hill from the south and fired their lasers and destroyed the tanks quickly as Clones marched alongside their walkers and fired volleys into the enemy vehicles from the rear.

It didn't take long for this last enemy tank to go down, and finally the enemy forces were gone, and the area went quiet. The RVC forces walked out, really taken by surprise by the complete surprise that was their victory. Orange and red lit up the area as smoke choked the sky while medivac craft flew back and forth. Cheers from the distance of RVC units called out in joy as they celebrated their victory.

"All units, operation success, well done."

"Roger that," Myec sighed, "Dagger-6 out."

The Clone walkers stopped their advance as their infantry spread out, began picking through the rubble, and awaited new orders. A Clone commander walked out from the Clone formations that were walking forward through the wreckage. Colonel Myec walked up through the commando unit and saluted the Clone Commander at the same time the Clone gave him a salute.

"Commander," Myec nodded.

"Colonel, I have to say, your units sure know how to deal with clankers," Commander Ranch smirked as he put his blaster pistols in their holsters.

"We've been fighting before there was a droid army," Colonel Myec said calmly, "But this…haven't seen a battle this big since the Stark Hyperspace War."

"Just another fight for us Colonel," Commander Ranch responded with a shrug as they walked towards the walkers.

"I'd bet you haven't had a battle like this," Myec countered.

"I'd agree, your troops have a unique way of dealing with droids," Ranch said, "Been a real treat to learn your fighting style."

"Right, glad you could be here, make sure you spread the word of how we fight," Myec reminded the Clone.

"If only the Jedi fought like you do, no disrespect intended of course."

"Speaking of Knights. How'd the Anaxes Knights do?" Myec asked sarcastically.

"Still hunting down droids."

"Figures, they're a bit bloodthirsty."

"Nothing wrong with that. And Colonel I'll tell you one thing, there won't be any more making fun of you lads," Ranch assured him.

"I'd hope so, we put a lot of effort into winning this battle. And we have many more after this."

Location: Chancellor's Office, Planet Coruscant

"The Republic War Party has arrived Chancellor," his secretary called out as he waited for the next meeting.

"Send them in," Palpatine said pleasantly, and stood up to welcome what were quickly becoming his most needed political allies.

Senators from Kamino, Carida, Kuat, Bestine, Eriadu, Anaxes, and a few others walked into the office, all of them were powerful representatives of militarily important worlds. They'd all benefited from the war in military industry. But Kuat's senator was not there, seeing as Senator Danu was a pacifist and not the kind of person to have in this meeting.

"Welcome Senators, it's good to see you here for this meeting."

"I understand we are here to speak on the subject of the Republic Volunteer Corps?" the Senator from Anaxes asked.

"Well, that is simply a cause for an extension of the subject of bringing in all planetary defense forces under the umbrella of the whole Republic Military. I believe the time has come," Palpatine suggested as everyone took a seat.

"Is this because of the RVC's recent success?" the Caridan Senator inquired, almost like a 'I told you so' moment.

"Very much so, with the Volunteer Corps being as effective as it has been the Republic needs to understand that the Clones and Jedi cannot fight this war alone. The recent setbacks of Republic forces under Jedi command and the success of the RVC have proven what the real value of our planetary defense forces and volunteer militias truly is."

"With respect Chancellor," the Kaminoan Senator Burtoni interrupted, "Our Clone Troopers are far more effective than any mere militia."

"Tell that to four million droids and the thousand ships Drexel's forces have destroyed over the past couple weeks," the Caridan snapped back.

"True, the RVC's forces have done the Republic a great service, but they are simply too few, and the Jedi are spread thin as is."

"Chancellor," the Anaxes Senator interrupted, "With all due respect the Jedi are not officer material. Overall their grasp on military tactics and strategy has left a lot to be desired. The RVC's officers on the other have clearly shown they are better at commanding field armies and fleets. Hell the only thing keeping the Republic from collapsing has been the skill of the Clones and the superiority of our ships. Granted the Jedi can turn the tide of a battle, but a campaign needs real command experience."

"Yet if your vaunted volunteer army cannot perform it matters not," Senator Burtoni chided.

"Insult the soldiers of Anaxes again and it will be your last word Kaminoan," the Anaxes Senator growled in a very plausible threat, he was a Master of the Anaxes Knights and stood up to accentuate his threat.

"Enough please," Palpatine said calmly, trying to bring the tension down, "I think we can agree on the fact we need both. So I propose a Senate Bill to create a new branch of the Republic Military, this would bring all planetary defense forces and militias under the umbrella of the military. At its core an all-volunteer force, perhaps with the current RVC as its model."

"How would this work exactly Chancellor? The Jedi aren't very capable of taking on the command of such forces and then adding the logistical difficulties of combined units."

"Well, they don't have to be combined, and from what I'm seeing such a thing is not recommended," Palpatine noted, smiling internally as he saw an opportunity to keep the Jedi chained to their fate.

"I would need to contact the RVC forces in the field," the Caridan suggested, "Admiral Drexel would need to be part of the process."

"Of course, he seems to be by far the most knowledgeable military commander we have right now," Palpatine stated, knowing that the War Party had it out for the Jedi so this would be just what they'd like to hear.

"He'd be very pleased to hear this," the Anaxes man responded.

"Well, it seems we have a lot to do."

"Indeed, the war effort waits on no one."

 **Now, that's done. Time for the fallout from this political reach and the creation of what I am sure is going to be a big move for the RVC. And I am considering a Separatist answer to the RVC, a Confederate militia force. What do you guys think? Any suggestions for another sector of the galaxy for the RVC to take on? What planets seem interesting? I'm thinking the planets Zeltros Bespin or Ruusan.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The RVC pulls back to rest relax and reform. Best of all it is time to grow.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Location: Kuat City, Planet Kuat

The troops of the 3rd Legion arrived in Kuat City on a handful of shuttles wearing their dress uniforms in the shuttle bays of their craft with everyone being extremely excited to see a big city for the first time. Their black uniforms and red markings had the new medals of a hard fought battle and well-earned. Inside one of the first red-painted shuttles was Eva and Wyatt, ready for some time off and a few drinks. The RVC had been pulled out for rest and refitting after Clone reinforcements had finally arrived to push south. Their forces were now able to repair their ships, replenish their fighter squadrons and replace their losses. To the basic soldier, crewman, and pilot, it was a time to drink and party.

"Where to first Wyatt?" Eva asked as she pulled on her hat.

"Bar?" Wyatt suggested.

"Bar. Whoo! Proton Bombers!" Eva yelled loudly as she threw her hands over head.

They both had their POW Medals on their chest, a Distinguished Unit Citation, a Harrin Campaign Medal, and then Wyatt had a single Medallion of Honor, a scarlet ribbon with gold medallion hanging around his neck. They each had their silver single gray block and two black tipped code cylinders in their chest pockets. They each had arm patches of the RVC's crest, a repeat of the symbol of the ancient Havoc Squad of the Old Republic and Tanaab's own image with the 3rd Legion's logo and name on the right and left arms, respectively.

All it had was their service records and personal information. They both walked along while looking up at the large silver and glass buildings stretching into the night sky. People were everywhere, skylanes criss-crossed the skies. They were amazed at the sheer size of this place, being a pair of Tanaab farm kids.

"Never seen anything like this!" Wyatt breathed out in amazement as he walked and looked up at the buildings that towered overhead.

"Tanaab has nothing like this," Eva agreed, "Haven't seen this much metal since I first saw the fleet!"

"I know. Oh, bar!"

They both ducked into a bar called "Five Parsecs", a lively bar that drummed with music and pulsed with multi-color lights. They walked in to see a plethora of different people in unique and sometimes rather sketchy if such clothing was even allowed. They both immediately walked in, and saw that they were getting looks from all over the bar as they walked in wearing their uniforms. They didn't quite know what to think of it, some looks were ones of awe, some were of curiosity, and others were just plain snooty when they saw their planet of origin.

"Let's get a drink," Wyatt suggested and pointed at the bar.

"Adrees, two glasses," Eva said as she went up to the bar.

"Okay soldiers," the barkeep said in response and poured two tall glasses.

"Wyatt," Eva proudly stated, "To the Third!"

"To the Third!"

Both of them lifted the drinks and drained both glasses within moments after which the bar tender was prompted to refill them. They clapped both of their glasses together and were proud to drink again. While both of them were drinking they noticed a few other members of the Corps walked in, a few from their unit and a few from a few others. Soon the drinks were flowing and Wyatt and Eva found themselves having downed three drinks in short order. The effect was nice, and Eva, who had skipped ship-board lunch, ordered some bar food, fried Dantooine Onions with a few dips. The food came quickly, and they dove into it, enjoying the piping hot crunchy food and the cooling ranch sauce they dipped it in.

"Why are we eating so early?" Wyatt asked Eva as he dipped some of the curled onion strings into the ranch.

"You wanna drink more don't you?" Eva laughed.

"Oh right," he chuckled as he took a drink again as Eva decided that they'd stayed long enough once they finished their food.

"Come on, let's go," she said and knocked back her fourth Adrees.

The two left the bar, and walked back into the open and saw another bar next to them called "Dead Space" and walked in to a similar bar but this one had booths, and was more of a diner than an actual bar. Wyatt could smell some real food and tugged Eva down into the closest available booth. The young blonde stumbled slightly, having been lighter and shorter so the beer was hitting her earlier.

"You need something more than some bar appetizers Eva, how about dinner and some water before we keep bar hopping?" he asked as she sat down and could tell by her eyes that she was getting buzzed. He was too, but he was still in full control and at no risk of tipping over like she was.

"Fine, I want some meat, not the dried preserved stuff we get on the ship," she declared.

"You're a Tanaab girl, that's for sure," Wyatt laughed.

Now a waitress droid rolled over and stopped in front of their table.

"What kind I get you kiddos?" the programmed question was asked by the droid.

"Nerf steaks, half pound, with potatoes and mixed vegetables, for both of us, and water," Wyatt said with a nod.

"You got it," the droid said and moved on to get the waters.

"Nerf steaks huh?" Eva asked with a goofy smile as she cupped her chin on her hand, "Sounds like date food."

"It's food from home, you know Tanaab has the best nerf steak," Wyatt half-scoffed, "Eva how drunk are you?"

"Just enough to not care," she smirked.

"You need to eat, seriously," Wyatt reminded her.

"I have this," she responded, pulling out a small bottle, "Drunk pills, that's what they're called, take one and it neutralizes the alcohol temporarily."

"They gave us those to take before we come back aboard," Wyatt responded with a shake of his head.

"And…" Eva said with an annoyed roll of her eyes.

"We're eating first, then we drink more, but not too much in one spot!"

Eva rolled her eyes as the food arrived, smelling perfect, and that was enough that they both began eating with gusto. It had been a long time since the two Tanaab natives had a piece of home outside of the parcels sent to them from home that would arrive every so often. But they thoroughly enjoyed eating and took their time, even had some house berry pie at the compliments of the chef on the house. Their uniforms ended up buying them the meal and the three glasses of water they each had before they went to the bathrooms, relieved themselves, took a second to admire themselves in the mirror and met outside the diner, now practically sober.

"Well, wanna branch off a little further to find ourselves a new bar?" Eva asked as she walked out.

"Sounds good," Wyatt nodded and the two began walking and saw quite a few more people in the street now including other RVC personnel.

They started walking and Eva was quiet, and almost uncomfortable as she walked next to him and finally she couldn't stand it any longer as they walked further and further.

"Wyatt is this a date?" she asked firmly.

"Huh? Hold on a date? I didn't ask you out I thought," he responded.

"Well you don't see any members of the squad with us, it's just the two of us, we've had drinks, we've had dinner, kinda constitutes a date."

"Aren't we not allowed to though? Regulations?"

"Oh screw the regulations! We've known each other longer than the RVC has had claim to us," she waved off quickly.

"Do you want it to be a date?" Wyatt carefully asked, unsure of what she was trying to get at exactly.

"I-I don't know, we can say it can be like a date."

"Like a date?" Wyatt questioned, "Alright, I guess so."

"Sounds good, now let's find a place to get drinks that isn't swarming with RVC," Eva nodded as they walked along a terrace and then a window smashed open as a pair of civilians came flying out, punching and fighting one another, "Not this one. I want a promotion not a demerit."

"Agreed."

As they walked away four white and red armored Clone Troopers came around the corner and saw them walking along the string of bars. The two RVC troopers walked past them, noting that they were MP's by the marks on their armor and the fact they held blaster rifles. The Clones turned their heads to look over at them as they passed and once they did both young troopers felt relief come over them that they didn't have to deal with Military Police. It was an accepted principle that MP's just aren't pleasant. That feeling was quickly reversed however when they heard one of the Clones call out to them.

"Hey, you two!" one of the troopers called out and the two looked at one another before turning to look at the troopers walking towards them and two walked to their sides.

"Where's you get this?" the Clone sergeant asked and pointed at the Medallion of Honor on Wyatt's upper chest below his collar.

"Harrin," Wyatt responded, "I was awarded aboard ship on our way back from the front."

"Is that so?" another of the Clones sarcastically replied getting a look from both troopers before the sergeant piped up again with his hand held out.

"Let's see some ID."

"Here," Eva said and pulled out one of her code cylinders and Wyatt did likewise and the Clone took both and plugged Eva's into his pad, "Private First Class Eva Quartin," he said and held up his datapad to her face to double check. Seeing as he didn't have to do so normally with his Clone brethren it was a bit awkward for him.

"Yes sir," Eva grumbled uncomfortably.

"Captured in action on Harrin and heavily interrogated, by Sabaoth Squadron, hmm…that checks out then," the sergeant said and pointed at her medals, and then turned to Wyatt, "Now for you."

"You know what we do to people who wear medals they didn't earn right?" one of the Clones threatened.

"They rot in a cold cell," another answered.

Wyatt snarled without baring his teeth as the sergeant plugged his cylinder in and the information came up on his pad.

"Private First Class Wyatt Lullian, also in action on Harrin, captured alongside Private Quartin here…decorated for conspicuous valor and credited with destroying fifty droids storming a damaged Separatist assault ship. Seems in order," the sergeant said and pulled the cylinder and handed it to Wyatt and then the other to Eva, "Enjoy your leave."

"Stay out of trouble kids," one of the Clones said as they turned to continue their patrol.

Eva turned and gave them a proud middle finger as she backed away, "Yeah stay out of trouble, fekking Clones."

"Enough come on, let's find ourselves a bar."

Location: Executive Building, Planet Coruscant

The building was not the same one that Drexel had once visited, security was much tighter, and there were not as many Senators around. But beyond that the mood here was one that was just different. Yet he walked in to a fairly admiring crowd, the Senate Commandos that escorted him treated him with an almost reverence that he hadn't really expected from such men. He entered the Chancellor's office, and saw that there were several Jedi in the room, all of them Jedi Masters save for a couple more senior Jedi. One of the Jedi caught Drexel completely by surprise, Master Yoda was sitting in the chair as he walked in and saluted the Chancellor first and foremost.

"Chancellor," he said smoothly, with all the sincerity he had, and dropped the salute, "Thank you for your invitation."

"Ah, Admiral Drexel, thank you for being able to make the trip from Kuat on such short notice," the old man said with seemingly genuine sincerity and kindness, "Please, have a seat, there is much to discuss."

"Thank you sir, Master Jedi," he said to the Jedi in the room that he was now able to place their names.

Alongside Master Yoda was Masters Ki Adi Mundi, Aayla Secura, and Plo Koon. All three were accomplished Jedi Generals, but Drexel still had no trouble in picking apart all of their tactics and strategies. Yet he remained highly respectful of them, having known the great importance of frontline leadership. The Jedi never lacked the bravery or willingness to fall short in this category.

"Now to business, I am proud to say that your leadership of the Republic Volunteer Corps has been exemplary Admiral," Palpatine said, heaping on the praise right off the bat, "And it has garnered my personal attention. As such, I am signing an executive order and an appropriations bill the will soon be passed by the Senate folding in all planetary militias and defense forces under the command of the Chancellor's office."

The Jedi all looked at one another in surprise. Normally such a move during peace time would be tantamount to political suicide and conflict would arise almost instantly. But these were treacherous times, and the Chancellor had every logical reason to do so.

"Chancellor, as logical a decision as this is," Plo Koon offered, "I must urge caution. To federalize local militias into the Grand Army to fight the Separatists may only further push neutral systems into the hands of the Separatists."

"Your note of caution has been considered Master Jedi," Palpatine waved him down, assured in his overall plan, "But rest assured this concern has been taken into account. The method by which these forces shall be commanded will be a new branch of the Republic Military, which itself is then further split into separate branches. Purely defensive local planetary forces shall not change their ways. But, a new force shall be created specifically for Republic control and operations on the frontlines. This force, will be, in effect, a grand expansion of the Republic Volunteer Corps. All of it, under your direct command Admiral."

"Chancellor, these two branches, I assume you have devised a way to adequately distinguish the field army from the defense planetary forces?" Drexel questioned, curious to hear more.

"Ah yes, of course. The overall umbrella branch that these two forces shall operate under is to be called the Republic Volunteer Corps, but Republic controlled field units will have a special distinction from strictly defensive forces to distinguish them from the Grand Army. This force, which is a direct expansion of your current forces Admiral, is deemed to be called the Republican Guard. According to law, as it shall be in the books, the Republican Guard is a reserve component of the Republic Military and is only to be activated during times of war. And the RVC is the normal local forces under nominal local command, but shall be administered by federal authorities," Palpatine explained, much to Drexel's intrigue.

"Chancellor, a wise precaution for winning the war this is, but caution you the Jedi Council must. Too few are we, to command such numerous forces," Yoda advised.

"They won't be under Jedi command Master Yoda," Palpatine declared, much to everyone's distress except for Drexel.

"Chancellor, with all due respect," Aayla Secura interjected, "The Jedi have long commanded the Republic's army in the field during times of war."

"Master Jedi," Drexel interrupted, holding a hand up to stop her, and Palpatine inwardly smiled, knowing Drexel was about to support him in his stance, "The Jedi Order have not commanded armies since before the Ruusan Reformations. I have studied your tactics and strategy and I have deemed your command abilities to be sorely lacking. Your order is rusty, you've grown too used to being peace keepers, while you are warriors of great skill and bravery, you're not equipped to lead an army or a fleet. Much of the reason for your success has been from beneficial circumstances afforded to you in the form of fine soldiers and fine equipment. But your casualties and mistakes in the field…to volunteer forces with families and loved ones at home in such a charged environment, such a command record is unacceptable. I'm sorry but I must agree with the Chancellor, the volunteer units should be commanded by career officers with training not in peace, but war."

Yoda looked at Drexel with an air of surprise and dismay. While he did not like such criticism directed against his beloved order, he had nothing to respond with. So he held his peace.

"I must agree with the Admiral," Palpatine said calmly, "The Jedi shall remain in command of their Clone troopers and the volunteers shall have their own commanders. We have winning formulas here my friends, we mustn't deviate from what works."

"But we can still help the Jedi," Drexel said as he looked at the Jedi, "We have experience in matters of war and can pass those lessons on to the Jedi so they can better utilize their forces."

"Appreciated this would be Admiral," Yoda nodded in response, knowing that Drexel was not his enemy and having spoken with him before knew him to be a friend, "Much we can learn there is."

"I am so glad that we are coming to an understanding," Palpatine said proudly, "Admiral Drexel the orders shall be going out soon and I know you shall have additional work to do and as do I I'm afraid."

"Yes Chancellor," everyone nodded and stood and bowed in response as the group departed.

"Oh Admiral," Palpatine said as he was about to leave, "A moment."

"Yes sir."

The Jedi were shown out and Palpatine waited for the door to close.

"The estimates of the strength the Republican Guard are quite substantial. Some estimates have as many as five million people under your command in the field," Palpatine stated calmly, "I do believe that you may need a larger, more substantial rank to suit this sort of responsibility."

"Full Admiral is the more most senior rank I know of," Drexel mentioned, "Did you have something in mind sir?"

"Yes, I consulted my advisers and they recommended that you be granted an ancient rank, more of a ceremonial position in the past, but I do believe your performance has deemed you worthy of its weight," Palpatine said with great reverence as he walked to his desk and lifted a fine velvet coated box, "I had this made for you, and I do hope you shall accept it."

"As an admiral in service to the Republic I am at your service sir," Drexel said as he was handed the box, and opened it.

Inside was a rank plaque, but it was not one he was expecting. It had six blue tiles stacked three by two, a row of three red tiles under three yellow tiles to the side of the blues and four code cylinders alongside the plaque. Drexel was not exactly sure what rank this would mean. He wasn't familiar with any other ranks that used this tile combination.

"It is the rank of Grand Admiral, it's a position that has not been used in many thousands of years by the Republic, and even then, the number of holders of such rank is quite a short one. I do believe it is time to bring it back from history."

"I'm honored," Drexel said as he looked at the rank plaque.

"However there is the matter of it having its own separate uniform," Palpatine mentioned.

"A separate uniform?"

Location: Kuat Drive Yards, Planet Kuat

"Good to have you home son," Admiral Kuat said to her son as the two Kuati officers walked along the viewport-lined wall facing the busy and crowded shipyards.

"Just glad that Admiral Drexel gave me this assignment," the younger Kuat, Lieutenant Wain Kuat responded, "It's always an interesting time seeing what KDY has coming down the line."

"I have to say Drexel's request for this kind of ship are not what we had expected, battlecruisers and star destroyers we know, but…this new class of ships? Is he that confident the Corps will be able to adequately crew them?"

"The Admiral's tactics and strategies have proven that this ship can be extremely useful. And I saw the numbers myself, we're growing mother, growing much faster than anyone could have imagined."

"Well," Admiral Kuat said as she stopped and looked out at the slipway section where KDY was building the ships in question, "There they are, four thousand meters, all six mere weeks from completion."

"It's amazing how quickly that we can build our ships. I mean, look at it, two months ago it was a design that Admiral Drexel was showing me."

The ships they were looking at were _Revenge_ -Class Heavy Carriers, beasts designed for the purpose of massive starfighter carrying capacity. Each was a shade under four thousand meters long with two separate bridges, one on the top and one on the bottom just in front of the massive engines powering it forward with the same basic layout as a _Venator_. Four massive reactor bulges stuck out like the one on the bottom of the _Imperator_ -Class but were augmented with dedicated shield generators for protection. The open tip of the dagger shape of the ship was similar to that of the ancient Sith _Harrower_ -Class Dreadnought with massive hangars that were protected by the ship's long prow stretching out in front and had two large ventral hangar bays with several smaller hangars on the sides. Turbolasers, laser cannons, and ion cannons were scattered across its hull and made the ship extremely powerful in its own right. But its slated advantage was its advantage in being capable of deploying over six hundred starfighters from its hangar bays in rapid succession. These ships were the epitome of a new kind of warfare pioneered by the success of the Republic Volunteer Corps and refined by the experiences of the _Venator_ -Class Star Destroyer.

The ships were designed for rapid and simplified production, much like all KDY designs. Within the two months of the order for the construction the six behemoths sat in their slips, armor plating, emplacements, and final modular hull segments being moved into positions across their hulls around the clock by automated drones and rotating construction crews. They were set to become the pride of the RVC, and their primary strike platforms.

"What's it been like, serving under him?"

"Never a dull moment," Wain nodded, "When we launched the attack on Yag'Dhul not a single member of the staff got any rest until we returned to the Core. Especially before Harrin, trying to get the shipyards to release the Imperators."

The Admiral nodded, remembering the disturbance that those ships had caused when Drexel had requested them. The Imperators were still brand new, with only a few in service, but production was steadily increasing and their ease of production and the first-hand combat experience of these ships against the Separatists at Harrin had sealed their fate as a sought after Republic asset.

"I remember that. What have you learned being with the RVC?" she asked.

"Casualties will be necessary, especially the way the Admiral commands. But we've sacrificed pilots for entire ships," Wain responded after thinking on it a moment.

"You think Drexel will change tactics with more ships?"

"No I think he'll stick with what's working," Wain nodded, "We've destroyed nearly a thousand enemy ships for the loss of a few hundred Starfighters and eleven ships and a few thousand troops and crew. Hopefully, with an increase in size I might be able to get my own command."

"I'm not going to pull for strings for you to get command when you're not ready," Admiral Kuat reprimanded him all-too quickly.

"Who was asking for you to pull strings?" Wain responded defensively.

"I personally asked for you to be placed Drexel's personal staff," she replied, "You knew that."

"Of course I knew, or else I'd be serving in a basic position like any other lieutenant. Mother I can handle command, we need experienced officers of course, and I saw the plans to vastly increase the size of our escort corvette forces. I can command one of those."

"You're not going on one of those Corellian tin cans," the elder Kuat snapped quickly.

"It may not be up to you," Wain sighed indignantly.

"I…" she growled at him but had to hold her tongue as some other officers walked by. Once they were out of earshot she continued, but quietly this time, "I am your mother. You take command of a corvette in this war and it will be your first and _last_ command! Tell me, how many of the eleven ships that you lost were corvettes?"

"Eight."

"And how many of their crews escaped death?"

"Not many."

"Exactly, you know just how fragile those ships are," she said affirmatively, feeling her point effectively made.

"If I'm still given the opportunity for command I have no choice but to accept," Lieutenant Wain shrugged.

"That's what I'm afraid of, and I'm already certain you'll try," she said with a sigh, knowing in her heart that her son was certainly ambitious, she just hoped it didn't get him killed, "But don't be disappointed if you get denied command. You're still technically fresh from the academy."

Both of them continued to walk after that, the reality of the situation reminding Wain that his ambition was still ahead of his experience. He had graduated from the academy mere months ago, and had been one of many aides on Admiral Drexel's staff ever since. Normally that didn't earn someone a place in command of a ship, but, the young Lieutenant was hopeful. There would soon be hundreds of ships that needed someone to command them, and Lieutenant Wain Kuat would try his luck to get one for himself.

Location: Kuat City, Planet Kuat

In a popular bar the black uniforms of dozens of RVC starfighter pilots were crowding the establishment as they kicked back drink after drink. In the center of it was Lieutenant Teela Abya, the highest scoring ace the RVC now had. A pilot now tallying forty-six kills Teela was a hero and was drinking like one. She had gotten to the very edge of being black out drunk when her section of shore leave arrived in Kuat City.

Knocking back another drink, this was one a local house specialty draft beer down the young blonde pilot shakily stood up.

"Gotta use the ladies room," she said to her squadron-mates.

She quickly scrambled to the side of the bright bar and stumbled into the refresher and grabbed a stall. Seeing as, in a period of four hours, she'd downed eight beers and several waters she really needed to pee, and it was a true relief when she was done. The young pilot came out and looked at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands to check to make sure that she had all of her uniform pieces still present. She saw her rank plaque of four horizontal blue tiles and two code cylinders were present and in place and saw her flight wings were in place over her medals. The RVC had a system of awarding pilots ace medals, one for every five kills, so she had two rows of four each with the numbers on the red ribbons and silver medal with the numbers going from five to forty. She also checked that she had the medals for each of the Yag'Dhul, Mechis, and Harrin Campaigns, each had a different color ribbon and a silver medal with the image of the planets they represented. She checked that her prized award, the Corellian Medal of Valor was around her neck. It was something she was very proud of to have this many medals so quickly in her career. She looked proudly at the silhouette of the Venator-Class Star Destroyer with the name of her ship, Dauntless below it with the word Task Force 1 above it on the patch her sleeve and the planet Corellia on the other patch.

However she'd lost friends, five members of her squadron had died or been wounded in action. They had left with twelve young and eager Corellian starfighter pilots, and were returning with seven. But each was now at least a double ace, in the case of half of their squadron they were triple aces. However, having forty-six kills was an accomplishment, only rivalled by a Y-Wing pilot aboard the Dauntless that had notched up fifteen lethal strikes on Separatist ships. But the _Dauntless_ had been hit hard, when the ship had left she had been one of more than four hundred pilots, they had returned with just over three hundred. The once pristine new Star Destroyer was scarred and several parts of the ship were so badly damaged they had been locked off and unable to be used without zero atmosphere gear and the crew had lost over a hundred of their fellow Corellians. It wasn't as easy as she'd originally thought it was going to be, the lack of sleep, lack of rest, constant worry, and the danger that they faced day in and day out had made their nerves raw, and this day of shore leave was just what they needed.

So when she walked back out she saw that her squadron and many others were gone, she looked around quite concerned in her alcohol induced haze. Panic rose as she looked for friendly faces and jumped when a hand clapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around and saw the familiar face of her wingman, fellow Flight Lieutenant Dev Zsen. He too was a bit wasted, but nearly as bad as she was so he had enough control over his mind to stay behind when he noticed the squadron leaving without her. He had three kill medals and the same campaign medals as she did.

"Hey Dev, you stay behind for me?" she asked with a lopsided smile on her face.

"Yeah, saw you weren't with the rest of us and stayed to make sure you weren't in the fresher or something," he replied, "Come on, let's go."

"Alright," she said and walked over towards the door but stumbled and nearly fell, and took the opportunity to grab a cold beer and started downing it on instinct.

"No no no!" Dev responded and grabbed the can from her hand, "You've had enough. I'm taking back to the ship."

"Oh you want me to all to yourself huh?" she slurred at the fellow pilot as he held her close and left the bar and began walking towards the shuttle landing point where RVC Star Commuter 2000/M's were going all night.

"There we are," he said as they got to the landing pad guarded by RVC troopers in white and red marked armor holding A280 Blaster Rifles, "Two for Star Destroyer _Dauntless_ ," he said as he pulled out his code cylinder and Teela's and handed them over to one of the guards.

After the troopers checked them out they were pointed without much in the way of words to the shuttle that would take them to the _Dauntless_ , docked in orbit and undergoing some repairs. The shuttle had a pilot sitting there quietly and waiting to get the shuttle to lift off towards their mothership and worked their way into a seat. After verifying that they indeed were headed to the _Dauntless_ the shuttle shut itself up and lifted off.

"Have fun you guys?" the pilot asked.

"Oh yeah, many drinks killed this night," Teela laughed.

"There's some water in the cooler there if you want," the pilot suggested.

"I think we're okay."

"Thanks Dev," she said as she leaned her head against his shoulder eyes groggy and staring out the cockpit window as the shuttle broke the atmosphere.

"For what?" Dev asked as he looked down at the blonde on his shoulder as he questioned what brought this on all of a sudden.

"Waiting for me. You're a good wingman," she patted him on the chest with a laugh.

"You're drunk Teela."

"Drunk, tired, happy, and horny, all the marks of a good shore leave," she giggled, bathing him in beer breath.

"You're something else."

The shuttle soared over the massive shipyards and flew towards a section that housed a long line of all-red _Venator_ -Class Star Destroyers and _Acclamator_ -Class Assault Ships. It was quite a sight to see beneath them, so many mammoths dormant after a long period of hard combat. Those ships had been fought hard and fought well as their scarred and damaged paint showed.

"We're coming in for a landing Dauntless, Shuttle Two-Five from Kuat City."

The shuttle landed aboard and saw the crew busy loading of new equipment and new starfighters being brought aboard. They didn't notice the shuttle land and the two pilots stumble out and made a bee-line for their barracks. The halls were quiet here at dock, many of the crew was on shore leave, and the majority of the rest were all sleeping. Dev walked Teela into their familiar barracks and turned on the lights.

"Come on, to bed," Dev said as he went and dropped Teela into her bunk and she groaned as she drunkenly laid down, and he then turned towards his bed as he started to unbutton his shirt. As he did that he heard the jingling of medals behind him and heard Teela's locker open as he assumed she was taking off her dress uniform and put it up while he did the same thing. He didn't expect what came next.

Teela, wearing only her tank top and panties walked up and spun him around. Before Dev could say a word she grabbed him by the back of his head and kissed him. They both stumbled back against the opposite locker as Dev pushed her back and broke the kiss.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dev snapped at her.

"We're all alone here relax," she said as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and went back in.

"You're drunk!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing, I took my sober pill, getting more sober by the minute. Besides," she said, "I know you've been checking me out. Come on, let's have some fun…"

"Oh hell," Dev groaned as he shook his head and went back into a passionate kiss, and he grabbed her by her hips as she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist and they both stumbled back and they fell back into her bed.

Clothes came flying off and Teela quickly pulled the privacy curtain closed and both ignored the hot and heavy noise they made was muffled by the walls of their barracks. Thankfully for both no one who passed the door had any clue they were breaking several regulations quite loudly. This was not the ending either of them had expected for the night and neither had a problem with that.

Location: Rendili StarDrive Docks, Planet Rendili

The large shipyards of Rendili StarDrive were not the same in scale as those of KDY, but there was enough mass of construction and manufacture facilities that when newly minted Lieutenant Jun Sato arrived aboard the transport to be mated with his new ship he couldn't help but be amazed. The young raven-haired graduate from Mykapo was here to take command of his first ship, a small robust little Hammerhead Class Corvette. He'd graduated top of his class from Mykapo's only military academy, and had taken an offer from the Republic Volunteer Corps for a commission and placement in the force. Soon afterwards he'd boarded a ship wearing the new uniform and lieutenant's rank plaque of the RVC and was off to Rendili.

He saw his destination from afar, a long dock complex with long docked lines of red-ainted Hammerhead Corvettes numbering in the dozens. They stretched all along the dock and were stacked with the small ships over one another as several were being launched and docked from their construction yards. He could see that there were so many here that he wondered how they'd crew them all. He looked with envy at the much larger Assault Frigate Mk. I Split-Bow Heavy Cruisers that Rendili was also building, noticing the immense size difference between the two classes of ships. Sato would have felt safer on one of those heavy cruisers, but he wouldn't trade the opportunity to take command of his own ship.

"Docking now, prepare to disembark," the speaker over the transport of officers called out.

"Here it comes," Sato said as he sighed and grasped his large bag of uniforms and equipment, checking that his SSK-7 Blaster Pistol was where it needed to be, in the holster on his uniform belt.

The door opened and the gaggle of officers walked into the long corridor where there were crewmen and women moving around the area with bags on their backs on in their hands. The group of young officers all lined up in front of a more senior officer with a datapad. They all checked that their hats were on straight and insignias were just right. The line of brownish gray officer uniforms had red on the line on their shoulders, a distinctive feature of RVC uniforms nowadays. They were called to attention and their boots clicked loudly as the disciplined graduated lieutenants alongside Sato went to attention.

"When I call your name step forward, you'll be given your orders and your ship's patch," the Captain said from the front.

Sato waited until his name was called, listening to each ship name one by one until he was certain he was next. He was disappointed that these Hammerhead Corvettes had some rather humble designations instead of something strong and powerful. But he was only commanding a small escort corvette.

"Sato, Corvette _Bittersweet_ , dock seventeen," the man said as he handed over the locked case which had the ship keys, the encrypted controlling device that ships this size always had for the first in command of a ship, "Cylinder."

Sato handed over one of his code cylinders which was then plugged in and the information inside was updated to reflect his new status as the commander of his new ship. After saluting and being dismissed Sato walked down the corridor, past several blocks of red uniformed and helmeted crewmen and women being split up to their ships. Sato counted down the deployed gangways and the noses of the red Hammerheads he passed and finally saw the "Dock Seventeen" written above the gangway to his assigned ship several hundred meters down the row. He took a breath and entered the hatchway, and got his first view of his new ship.

The _Bittersweet_ was as normal a Hammerhead Corvette as it got. The tubular hull and tall thin hammer in the bow was driven forward by three engines and was armed with five brand new dual laser cannons. Two were mounted behind the bridge, and the other three were mounted between the engines in the rear, able to swivel to fire at targets behind the ship or in front of the ship. It was well designed, made to be fast, well-armored, and hit hard. Sato was pleased with this little ship. He stepped aboard and saw the simple interior was clean and had a sort of 'new ship smell'. He saw the ship had a pair of barracks immediately off of the hatch he'd come through on the ship's starboard side for the ship's engineers and a mess hall for the whole ship. The engineering space was connected to the main junction of corridors that led to the three gunners stations in the rear. Sato moved into the neck of the ship and saw his own small quarters on the starboard side with his own refresher. Opposite of him was the larger refresher for the whole crew connected to a longer barracks for the rest of the crew on the deck above. Also here was a small armory and a cargo bay below along with his XO's own quarters with their own refresher. Next to the engine room was a medical room and a rec room that was fairly basic, with only three treadmills and three weight benches and a circular padded section for general workouts and stretches.

He deposited his gear on his bed and looked around his quarters. He had a small mirror, a small desk, and a decent size cabinet with drawers underneath his bed against the wall. The room was a mix of whites and grays, with no creature comforts whatsoever. It had a lock on the door, which was unusual, and could see that he would have a lot of memories here.

He had everything he needed to keep tabs on everything the ship was doing, engineering readouts, navigational readouts, and full lists of cargo, and crew on duty were on a large screen in his quarters above the desk. He saw his crew roster numbered two officers, including him, and fourteen enlisted crewmen and women. Of those ten crew he had two chief petty officers, one engineer and one deck chief. He also had two pilots, six gunners, four engineers, a navigator, and a ship's medic. He had several droids aboard as well, four astromechs, a doctor droid, and a cooking droid.

A knock on the side of his open door and he saw the brownish gray and red uniform of his XO and saw that he was actually even younger than him.

"Sub-Lieutenant Kain Kolzaar, reporting for duty," the man said quickly, saluting and snapping to attention.

"Lieutenant Jun Sato, welcome aboard," Sato greeted the man, saluting him, and was taken back by the by-the-book at ease stance the young man took and saw the same planetary patch as his on his sleeve, "I see you're from Mykapo as well?"

"Yes sir, graduated two weeks ago."

"Good, I assume our crew is predominantly Mykapo-native as well?" Sato nodded as he decided to investigate that as well and checked the personnel roster and saw that he was mostly right.

"The enlisted men are yes sir, but our chief petty officers are Rendili-natives."

"Well, they are more than likely experienced, we'll have to rely heavily upon them. Where are they now?" Sato asked as he now decided it was time to meet his new crew.

"They've been sent to the mess hall sir, awaiting you."

"Well then, let's get them to work."

Sato tucked his hat on, and checked his uniform quickly before moving on to the mess hall where he saw the deck chief standing outside with Kolzaar behind him in perfect step. The deck chief nodded as he approached and entered the mess hall announce that he was coming in.

"Captain on deck!" came the call that silenced the talking crewmen and women who were in the mess hall and there was the screeching of chairs against the floor.

Sato took a deep breath, and entered the room to see that there was the twelve enlisted men with the engineering chief standing on the opposite wall. The deck chief saluted him as he entered crisply and Sato saluted in return. The four square tables had red uniformed crew around them standing at attention with their goggles and helmets on the tables and small metal packs on their backs with all having their symbol of the seal of the Republic on their separate shoulder pads and the patches of the ship and their planet origin on the opposite sleeve.

"Stand at ease," Sato said to them as he walked to the front of the room and the crew went to at ease, "Sit down, face me," after that had happened he began his somewhat prepared speech, "Welcome aboard the _Bittersweet_ , I am your commanding officer, Lieutenant Jun Sato, this is your Executive Officer, Sub-Lieutenant Kain Kolzaar. We are proud to welcome to you aboard this shop and thank you all for the selfless manner in which you have all volunteered for service. I will never ask you to do anything that I myself would not or could not do myself. We have a long way to go, the _Bittersweet_ has never left home, it's our duty to take care of her, and she will take care of us. Your chiefs are experienced and professional, they will teach you what you were not taught in training. We are the guardians of the fleet, the cruisers and the star destroyers are nothing without us, we are their shield. Remember that, and we will do our duty."

 **And that's a good spot to leave off. I finally remembered to get Sato into the story and I think that I did that quite well. As for the rest of the chapter I'm pretty proud of the personal interactions that I had written with the RVC troops and those Clone MP's. And yes I did make Drexel a Grand Admiral. I decided that the rank of Fleet Admiral was not large enough an encompassing rank for command of the massive fleet and army that the RVC will end up becoming. As for the Revenge Class Heavy Carriers the ship in question is one I like to reference in my stories. It's a fan created ship from show called "IMPS The Relentless".**

 **So, as usual, tell me what you guys think, I'd love to hear from you guys now that things might start going into an AU-ish direction for the Clone Wars.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: While the RVC grows the war continues.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Location: Kuat Drive Yards Research and Development Facility, Planet Kuat

The facility where the mighty warships of Kuat were born was actually a relatively new facility, only a decade old. It was tucked away in the countryside, where the complexity of urban terrain was no threat to its security. Built into the rolling hills of the open plains the gray of the building walls and black of the tinted windows stood out from the green of the grasses with stands of planted trees amongst the several buildings and on the roofs as part of a centuries-old green thumb Kuat had in place in order to preserve its planetary ecosystem. Guarding this facility was a mixture of KDY Security and Kuat Defense Force Soldiers. They patrolled the walls surrounding the facility and amongst the sensitive databanks and offices of those who toiled to create better ships of all kinds.

Most secure among all these sections was the Center for Military Development. The largest building in the complex, it stood six stories tall and covered an area of four acres. Inside were large holographic projection rooms where ship designs or sections of ship designs could be visually imaged and tested. Whole hallway sections could also be fully projected to test and envision interior spaces of these ships. There were massive databanks and design spaces for creating these ships and their components along with other things. Offices and other miscellaneous rooms also filled in the spaces of the large building, the KDY employees themselves something never even seeing or knowing about what other parts of the building had in them.

However, for one designer, a young Kuati with a short but eventful history in KDY's R&D program he only needed to know a select few. His name was Xim Main, and was a junior designer focusing on testing and being an understudy to a more senior designer. But he had a secret, his allegiances were not to the Republic, but to its enemy. His family was of a quiet sect of society with sympathies to what the Confederacy had espoused. They believed firmly that the Republic was too far gone for it to be saved. And he was intent on doing his part to see it deconstructed and its corruption destroyed. To help in that he had himself a nice position in which to do so.

"Morning Xim," his design master said as he walked into the simulator room. He saw a space station design was being tooled with on the holographic projection, "How are you young man?"

"Not too bad. I was looking to get a head start on those new destroyer designs. I had an idea for the damage control command centers, maybe place them near turbolifts to facilitate rapid movement to different decks," Xim suggested as he sat down at the control panel behind the more senior designer.

"We can test that, see what happens," the older KDY designer nodded, "Although they are effectively complete, may end up creating more problems trying to reallocate what was already there to new locations."

"Well I'd might as well get started if you don't mind."

"Certainly, go on ahead."

Xim typed in his passcode and pressed his hand against the scanner and it flashed green. He was in, and saw the beautiful arrowhead designs that he was after. One was a nine hundred meter Star Destroyer. As usual it was a classic Kuat design with a thick, four hundred and fifty meter wide hull with smooth sharply sloping armor plates. Turbolasers lined its horizontal mid-line gap along with laser cannons and turbolaser batteries on the top and bottom. A hangar for a sizeable compliment of secondary craft, starfighters, shuttles, etc. was also present along the bottom hull with the low bridge being located in the middle of lateral spine of the ship and in the dead center of the top of the hull. Four powerful engines on the rear hull portion that jutted out from the arrowhead portion, connected seamlessly, gave the ship a smooth and simple design. It was designed for the purpose of a smaller-hulled more powerful alternative to the Venator-Class Star Destroyer. However there were some problems with the design, it was hard on tibanna gas requirements, and lacked the principle batteries of heavy turbolasers that the other Star Destroyer designs sported, preferring to nestle more and smaller guns in the horizontal divide between the upper and lower hull. And it was meant to go into battle alongside a smaller escort design to protect it from faster opponents.

This design was more promising, a five hundred meter long and one hundred and fifty meters wide. It was the same basic layout, but had some more traits in common with the Venator and Imperator-Class Star Destroyers with the overlapping armor plates over the horizontal middle of the ship cut away around the hangars mid-way through the ship's length. Unlike its larger design cousin the points where the line from the front of the arrow intersected the back, this area was cut off, making the ship narrower. The design's rear was just like its bigger cousin, but with three main engines in its hull, and four armor protected secondary ones above and below them. The bridge was located in the same basic place as the usual KDY ship style dictated. But again, it lacked the heavy turbolaser batteries of the usual designs. While faster, it was still heavily armed for a ship its size, a match for the Dreadnought-Class Heavy Cruiser of Rothana.

Both designs were at Xim's fingertips now, and he intended on delivering them to his contact, who was already arranging his family's evacuation from Kuat. He had been given a special data drive with which to accomplish this. Hidden in his shoe, he'd smuggled it through security, men he knew well and men who recognized him and let him in with his device without incident. Xim had taken his drive out when he'd visited the restroom, along with a pill with which to create an excuse to leave without arousing suspicion. Using all of this he was perfectly ready to do what he needed to do.

"Mind if I take this to work on in my office's secure projector?" Xim asked as he looked at the two designs.

"Of course," his superior responded.

"I'll be available if you need me," Xim nonchalantly nodded as he downloaded the designs on an approved data drive there in the room.

With practiced precision he walked out of the room and swiped the approved data drive over his own, which used a scanning device to download the data on the two designs right onto his spy drive. He did all of this out of sight, within his pocket where security would not see the exchange happening. This was perfect, and so he reached his office, checked for the data on the spy drive, and plugged in the real one. At the same time he opened the bottle which had been placed into his office drawer. Taking a deep breath he swallowed it with the help of a bottle of water. Without much time at all he felt the sickening feeling of his purposely large breakfast coming back the way it had come.

Spewing puke all over the floor on instinct in a pained convulsion he knew he now had his excuse to leave work. This excuse was one that was well-known to be perfectly capable of getting him out of work. So, once he'd caught his breath and he was well and truly sick he decided it was time to go. Taking the data drive out he tapped the comm to the maintenance office.

"Hello, Maintenance," the man on the other end responded.

"Yes, hello, I've…just gotten sick, so sorry, umm…my office could use a cleaning," Xim said painfully.

"We'll be right up."

"Thanks. I'll get any sensitive information out of sight."

"Of course," the man on the other end responded as he cut off the call.

"Let's get out of here."

Xim took his data drive and held it tightly and shut off his computers and secured all of them. Quickly, he placed the spy drive back in his shoe. That meant that they were fine to come and clean and that security wouldn't have to preemptively check for any sort of insecure classified documents. He walked with a hand to his stomach and the holographic chamber couldn't have come soon enough. Xim got numerous looks of questioning and many of sympathy at his obviously pitiful state. This added to the social knowledge of just how sick he was and would cover his tracks for the time he needed. Walking back into the chamber and he saw his own mentor at work, and decided to have the sickness really show.

"Goro, I think I need to head home, I just puked all over my office floor," Xim said, placing the data drive in its disposal bin.

"Oh, yes of course, get home Xim, come back when you feel better," the older man said calmly, seeing that his protégé was extremely sick, "Do you have the designs?"

"Right there," he pointed, "In disposal, I'm still in control of my mind."

"If only our bodies obeyed as well eh?"

"Indeed. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow."

The man turned and left, returning to the security checkpoint. The guards got him to the front and he sighed in relief when he managed to wretch and they sped him through with just a pat down and he was then able to get to his speeder. Getting into his personal vehicle he set it to autopilot and was hesitant to do anything but sit there and try not to throw up again. When he arrived at his residence a few miles away after ten minutes of flying low to the ground on the empty road he saw that he was free. Waiting for him was his wife and his Separatist handler, who'd pack everything up that needed to be packed. A Baudo-Class Star Yacht was there at his house, and he arrived there to see the Separatist spy there, the Twi'lek male waiting anxiously.

"Did you get it?" he demanded.

"Yes," Xim responded, "We're ready?"

"As promised."

"Good, get aboard."

Xim's wife went to him, offering a medicinal bottle for his sickness. They'd planned for just such this day for weeks. The couple walked aboard as the ship's engines started up and they began lifting off. The ship's hyperdrive spooled up and they were gone within moments of achieving orbit. Their next stop was the territory of the Separatist Alliance.

Location: Prisoner Swap Location, Planet Mandalore

Two sides, one with Clones and a single Jedi guarding a dozen Separatist high-ranking officers. Many were of alien races and many were human. They were guarded by Clone Shock Troopers and Jedi Master Kitt Fisto, who was overseeing the Republic's side of this exchange. The Separatists had four Jedi and two Clone Commanders under heavy guard by Droid Commandoes, none of them were in any real good shape.

Rear Admiral Korra Der, captured at the Battle of Harrin, could notice this from afar, standing with her arm in a sling. She was one of three admirals and a ten commodores captured by the Republic Volunteer Corps, both of the others hadn't been arranged for being swapped. She was the only one of them that was here to be swapped. For what reason she didn't know.

"Both sides shall exchange prisoners at the same time," the Mandalorian leader, Duchess Satine commanded loudly and firmly, four of her own personal body guards flanking her and a dozen gray armored Mandalorian police around the area, shields in hand, ready to take care of settling any sort of conflict by force, "Is that understood?"

"Yes Duchess," Kitt Fisto responded with a nod.

"Roger, roger," the tactical droid overseeing the exchange agreed.

"Prisoners shall return to their sides."

Der walked amongst her fellow flag officers to her own lines as the droid commandoes awaited them to return to their ranks, their fates obviously to return to command, or else they would not have traded Jedi for them. She expected to have some sort of dressing down for her failure to destroy Admiral Drexel's forces however, and when she entered friendly lines the group of former prisoners was taken to a shuttle and without much else than a command to sit down they lifted off after the formalized portion of the ceremony was wrapped up. Above the planet, facing off with a single Venator-Class Star Destroyer, was a Providence-Class Destroyer-Carrier that would take them all back to friendly territory.

Upon landing Admiral Der was told to wait in the shuttle by the tactical droid and the rest of the officers walked off as the ship could be felt to be maneuvering and the vibrations Der felt in her feet told her that the ship was about to jump. She looked out of the cockpit window, wondering what the reason for her to be held back. She hadn't been specially treated or questioned or given anything up at all to the Republic. So punishment was not what her instincts told her was coming. It had to be something that she was not yet understanding.

"Admiral Der," a deep voice she'd heard many times said from behind her, and she saw a full-size holographic image of Count Dooku, her chief of state, the ultimate authority in the Separatist Alliance, "I see captivity has done little to dampen your spirits?"

"No sir," she said, rising to full height and rolling her shoulders back, "Not in the least."

"Excellent, I am curious in your particular experience with a particular problem that faces the Confederacy, Admiral Drexel of the Republic Volunteer Corps," Dooku said, informing her of what this meeting would be about.

"Admiral Drexel was one of my instructors at the Anaxes War College, before the war. I had scored high scores in his courses, and was offered a position in several Core Worlds' defense fleets but I chose to return home. I kept up with his publications and then only had a real encounter with him after the war began at Harrin, where he lured my fleet into a trap that was far too well laid for us to break out. Our ships were sitting ducks and I was lucky to survive."

"Analysis of your tactics against the RVC at that battle show that if it were not for the arrival of the Republic's Imperator-Class Star Destroyers you would have won that battle. While failure is always lamentable, your performance has been seen as enough to be given a new chance to redeem yourself. This time, at the head of a force you shall mold for the purpose of defeating these upstart volunteer soldiers," Dooku offered, getting her attention.

"Of my own design?" Der asked, "How free am I to make such decisions?"

"Full discretion, we have acquired some meaningful tools for your use in this task. When you arrive at your new headquarters on Edusa you shall begin. To start with, you are to organize this force as a direct answer to the Republic's new volunteer formations that are assembling in great numbers. The Congress is pledging their own forces to aid in the war and counter the propaganda efforts of the Republic."

"Under Drexel's command I assume?" Der sighed, knowing how good Drexel was, and feared the result of him commanding a much larger fleet.

"Yes, however, your force is being built for one primary purpose, destroy the Republican Guard."

Location: Training Camp Delta-5, Planet Carida

The training camp known as Delta-5 was a big one, and was now home to the 3rd Volunteer Legion, which now had the name 3rd Guard Legion. All of the thirteen thousand troopers and officers that had returned were now hardened veterans, but still were going to continue training to become better soldiers. Wyatt and Eva were sitting in their platoon barracks, which was one of many rooms on their floor holding the company's platoons with another floor in their building for another company. Another line of buildings held the rest of their battalion's five companies and the single HQ company. The barracks building rested on a line of other barracks, making up their regiment which h made up their legion.

The room had two lines of bunks for the platoon, with a refresher in the back and a door in the front of the room. There was a line of tables in the middle aisle that could go up or down as needed/dictated and both were at one of these tables in their white and red armor playing some sabaac with some of their other comrades with helmets on their bunks and weapons on the gun racks against the walls in between their bunks. It was a quiet day, since, according to Lieutenant Yuno, they would be receiving replacements. Their platoon of forty-two had been whittled away to only thirty, so they needed some replacements.

"Oh there they are," Wyatt noticed when he heard a commotion in the hall.

"Wonder if they'll be Tanaab-natives," Eva said as she studied her cards, doing the math in her head as she contemplated her options.

"Hope so, we're a Tanaab unit."

Then the new arrivals walked in, wearing their full armor, shiny from recent graduation from boot camp. They held full backpacks and personal bags as they walked in, weapons slung over their shoulders. The veterans all saw their arms and nodded as they noticed that they were in fact Tanaab-born replacements. Their platoon sergeant was leading them in, and pointed them to empty bunks where they could put up their gear.

"Welcome to Echo Company rookies, get your gear put up and report to your squad leaders, rest of you, got some promotions! Gsig! Lullian congrats, you're corporals now. Quartin, Froi, congrats you're now Lance Corporals."

The platoon sergeant tossed out paper bags with the new rank insignias. The two young troopers looked at one another as they opened up their rank insignia bags. Wyatt saw that his rank insignia came with a red tile and three code cylinders, and Eva saw hers was a red tile and four code cylinders. She had authority over her own battle buddy and Wyatt now had command over his own fireteam. They'd been battle buddies now for almost a period of eight months, now they wouldn't.

"Well, we're going to be with a new battle buddy huh?" Eva sighed as she put her new insignia on the piece on her helmet and her collarbone insignia.

"Yeah, I'll have three others to be responsible for, great," Wyatt grumbled, knowing he'd probably have two of the new rookies that were starting to report to squad leaders.

"Corporal," a young male voice said behind him, and they saw a pair of young rookie troopers, a girl and a boy, barely old enough to be in the military, "Private Hal Wilven, I was told to report to you?"

"You?" Wyatt asked, pointing to the girl, a short-haired redhead.

"Private Kyly Gorri, just ready to get going Corporal," the girl said excitedly.

"Sure ya are," Wyatt smirked, "Okay, Kyly, you're with Eva here, she's your battle buddy, Hal, you're with me, I've got the Viper, so you'll be carrying the rocket launcher and spare rockets."

"Awesome," the young rookie said excitedly.

"But you're not to use it without permission, you're green, the rocket launcher has very limited shots," Wyatt reminded him, "So…I'm still in charge of its use."

"Got it Corporal," the boy nodded.

"Kyly, you're also to carry the spare power packs for the DLT-18, they're a bit heavy, but that's the most important weapon in the team, a single one can wipe out a droid company in the open."

"Roger that Corporal."

"Okay, we're waiting on orders right now, just take a load off and-," Wyatt began but was stopped when someone familiar walked in.

"Ten-hut!"

"At ease," Lieutenant Yuno said calmly, then sighed, "I know we just got back from Harrin, and you green horns just got here. But the war doesn't wait for us to be ready. Commenor's been invaded and Task Force 1 is being mobilized, gather your gear, prepare for immediate deployment."

Without much else said the platoon leader turned and left, being called out by the company commander. The squad leaders all began yelling for everyone to gather their gear and they moved quickly. Many were grumbling loudly, having just gotten comfortable. Others were excited to be going back into the fray, and the rookies were exhibited a mix of emotions. None had to pack anything, and were awkwardly standing around or sitting at their beds, looking around and waiting.

"You two were asking for this," Wyatt said to them as he and the others now got their gear ready to go.

With a word from the platoon sergeant the unit began rushing out of the doors. Their destination was the flat open airfield where their F6 Dropships were located. The craft were already warmed up, ready to lift off. Thousands of troopers rushed in lines towards their ships, and climbed aboard. Wyatt was fully aware that he had just gotten promoted and just got command of a fireteam. He wasn't ready for this responsibility, but was not going to back down from this.

Location: RVC Rendezvous Point, Humbarine System

Task Force 1 arrived within an hour's hyperspace jump to see that another RVC fleet was already waiting for them. Task Force 9, an entirely new task force not yet tested in combat, was waiting in position with its new model fleet. It was a mirror image of Task Force 1, which had also received its new ships and enlarged it by a lot. Whereas the original RVC task force setup was sixteen ships, the new Republican Guard follow-up model task force had more double that number. Each of the two task forces had the same three _Venator_ s, four _Acclamator_ s, six CR90's, two _Arquitens_ -Class Light Cruisers and a _QuasarFire_ Carrier-Cruiser. They were good ships, but they just weren't enough.

Now however, they had been enlarged to be composed of an escort wing eight Hammerhead Corvettes, seven c70 Charger refit _Consular_ -Class Cruisers, and six CR90's, all commanded by a Commodore aboard the lone heavy cruiser in the cruiser wing. It had an enlarged cruiser wing of three _Arquitens_ -Class Light Cruisers, a _QuasarFire_ Carrier-Cruiser, and a Split-Bow Assault Frigate Mk. I-Class Heavy Cruiser. At their core, each force had four _Acclamator_ -Class Assault Ships, three _Venator_ -Class Star Destroyers, and heading up the whole task force was a single _Imperator_ -Class Star Destroyer where the Rear Admiral that commanded each task force had his flagship. In total, thirty-four ships were in every Republican Guard Task Force, and here, there were two of them. The total of these two forces meant that sixty-eight ships were now about to descend upon Commenor.

Among the eight legions about to be thrust into action were two all-Commenor legions, the 34th Guards and 35th Guards Legions. Among them was Captain Challis and his freshly minted infantry company, ready to defend their home planet. They'd been specially chosen for the counterattack against what was estimated to be a Separatist fleet of a grouping of four squadrons totaling two hundred ships. They were all angered at the attack on their homeworld, and were ready to grind them to dust.

Captain Challis himself was immensely worried. He hadn't heard from his wife since the before the invasion began. That meant he was returning home to rescue his own people. Their whole unit was desperate to get to the long range comms aboard ship and contact their homes in the hope they could find out if their families were okay. But Kelrein had informed Challis that it was entirely certain that a few men may end up finding their families and homes gone, never to be seen again. Discipline would have to be instilled to a dramatic extent, and Kelrein made something else very clear to him, if there were biological Separatist troops captured and if there were civilian casualties the 34th and 35th would slaughter them. The last bit of advice Kelrein had told him was that if that happened to stay away, let the troops take their vengeance. His authority and credibility depended upon it.

"We're ready Captain sir," Sergeant Kelrein informed his company commander as he walked in to his platoon leader meeting after Challis himself had arrived from a battalion briefing.

"Excellent sergeant, keep them on busy work," Challis nodded to his company first sergeant.

"Aye sir, already done," Kelrein responded without hesitation, and saw that a holographic image of a large skyscraper, "Ah, our objective sir?"

"Yes it is, Space Ways Tower, corporate headquarters of the Space Ways Trade Corporation. Three hundred floors and several thousand rooms that we need to sweep and secure from the top down. We're taking point on this building, another couple companies will be working their way up from the ground levels."

"Seems about right sir," Kelrein said calmly, "But we'll need to be careful, the surrounding buildings are perfect for snipers and cannons. I'd recommend we keep our rockets with us."

"I agree sir," Lieutenant Eren of 1st Platoon nodded firmly, "And having our own snipers nearby will come in handy."

"I'm primarily worried about Droidekas," Challis responded, rubbing his chin, "One or two of those in a hallway can deal some real damage."

"That's why we've got grenade launchers," Kelrein responded.

"This is true," Challis chuckled, "So we're on our way, the fleet will clear the way and we'll land the platoons here, on the three landing pads on the upper five floors. It'll be a tough fight, taking this tower."

"It'll be time to test our lads soon enough," Kelrein said, "But we'll take care of business."

"I hope so."

Location: Dreadnought _Basilisk_

The ship arrived from out of hyperspace to join Task Forces 1 and 9, its immense bulk dropping out behind the fleet of Republican Guard ships. All of their ships were classic Guard style, all red hulls. The fleet parted so that the _Basilisk_ could be nestled amongst them, and the formations adjusted accordingly. The _Imperator_ s went to the sides and front off the bow of the larger dreadnought and the _Venator_ s flanked them above and below with the cruisers bracketing the fleet in between and corvettes moved into formations to create an umbrella of covering fire against enemy starfighters. As the fleet prepared, a new sight graced the bridge of the Basilisk.

"Admiral on deck!"

The whole bridge went to attention, knowing that the highest ranked officer the Republic now had was on the bridge. Walking in was Grand Admiral Drexel, wearing a mostly white version of his previous uniform with a red stripe over his shoulders and down his pant legs. He felt odd in this uniform, but knew it was quite an honored position. So he did what he was ordered/asked of him by the Chancellor.

"At ease. Fleet status?" Drexel asked.

"All ships are ready, starfighters ready to deploy," the man heard in response from one of the operations officers.

"Very well," Drexel nodded, "All ships to battlestations, launch starfighters. Let's do this by the book. First wave to jump when ready. Second wave to deploy and jump after the first wave is engaged. Third wave to deploy and jump with the fleet. Ground troops to be ready for planetary assault with starfighter escort."

A flurry of orders went out and Drexel walked up to the large window that looked over the fleet. The ships of the two task forces massed here so quickly made Drexel smirk inwardly at how such a rapid mobilization was simply part of his planning. The new Republican Guard Navy was structured for rapid massing of their forces, and Guard Task Forces were perfect for this purpose. Designed to be capable of holding against much larger forces a single task force could hold long enough for more of their fellow task forces to arrive and reinforce them until their larger parent battle groups could arrive in force. However, they could also be massed quickly for whatever purpose was needed, just like now.

"All ships are reporting ready."

"Starfighters deployed, ready to jump."

"Begin operation."

 **I think I'll leave it there. A battle would take up at least two thousand words. I don't feel like having an eight thousand word chapter right now. Now I dropped a couple bombshells here, what with the CIS now deciding to get their own volunteer force and stealing KDY star destroyer designs. I have images that I based them off of, but I think I accurately described them enough so you guys get the picture of what they look like. If you want some links for what these ships look like I'll provide the images. As for the Split-Bow Assault Frigate that ship is the same one that you see in "The Force Awakens" at the Battle of Kamino. I figure that the Rebellion got them from somewhere, right?**

 **As usual, hope you all enjoyed it, if you have suggestions or take issue/annoyance with anything please let me know.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The soldiers of Commenor return home, and the Confederacy's believers rally to their flag.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Location: Orbit of the Planet Commenor

The swarms of starfighters still had their sting, seeing as Separatist attention was firmly fixed upon the Clone fleet of a dozen Venators and a handful of support ships. Their fleet had taken serious losses, and when Lieutenant Sato saw the first battle of his young career he was not disappointed. As part of Task Force 9 he had a position on the left flank of the fleet, and sat within his command chair, ready to commence his first engagement.

"All corvettes, maintain escort formation around the fleet," he heard Commodore Viotec, TF 9's CO, order the fleet of escort ships of his unit, "Engage all enemy craft, focus on the bombers and gunships, don't let any of them board the destroyers."

"Engines, match speed and ahead, all cannons fire at will," Sato quickly ordered his green crew.

"Aye sir, engines to two thirds," his navigator quickly responded, thrusting the ship forward towards the swarm of enemy ships that was getting torn up by the heavy volleys from the larger Republican Guard capital ships and the GAR fleet now pressing into the enemy flank and rear.

"Firing guns," he heard his XO call out and Sato watched the blue laser bolts fly from the Bittersweet. He also saw that the bow guns were trained upon a light destroyer directly to their front.

"Fire bow guns, maximum firepower! Target that light destroyer," Sato quickly called out, wanting to get some hits into the droid ship while they had a shot from far away.

The dual barrel guns opened fire on his order, and the bolts began striking home after the ship, that was quite distant, began to shudder under heavier fire from Republic starfighter bombing runs. He was surprised to see explosions tear away at the ship from the strikes on the ship that trailed down the ship as it moved to Sato's right at a slow pace. Then the Bittersweet's volley smashed into the joining point of the three engines in the large ship's rear and there was a larger series of explosions.

"Critical damage sir! That ship's shields were down," his sensors crewman relayed quickly, excited at having gotten a good hit in.

"We got lucky, continue firing! Maintain formation, we have to keep the escort screen intact."

He could see fighters zooming by in their own formations, steering clear of the corvettes' firing zones. The firing of the other ships like the CR90 in his direct line of sight was constant and effective, and the Separatists were being driven back. Sato kept an eye out for enemy fighters but saw that they were concentrated on the fight in front of the fleet, amongst the Separatists' own ships that were under increasing amounts of fire. One of the battleships began to list as it came under the fire of the Basilisk and the two Imperator-Class Star Destroyers that were the Task Force flagships.

"Sir, looks like the enemy ships are starting to pull away," his sensor station reported, and then a turbolaser bolt, and then two more struck the ship and they all shuddered from the impacts.

"Damage?" Sato asked immediately.

"Shields are at eighty-five percent sir. No structural damage."

"Very well, reroute power to the forward shields," Sato nodded, a bit jumpy at taking fire for the first time.

The Separatist fleet was now visually pulling away and turning away from the Republic fleets. They'd been brutalized, with several of them unable to match speed or even maneuver at all. The numbers game was not on their side, for once the Republic had gained a kind of numerical advantage, or at least, the ships the Republic brought to bear were too much for them to face with their current fleet.

"All ships, let them go, corvettes accelerate and clear a corridor for the dropships. They can still turn and re-engage," Commodore Viotec ordered the task force's corvettes.

"Full speed, blast those droid fighters, nothing threatens the dropships," Sato ordered, intent on following his orders to the letter, as young officers tended to do, "Stay in formation pilot."

"Aye sir, maintaining formation," the man said as the ship moved forward.

Sato kept a careful track on where his guns were trained, making sure his gunners kept their fire restricted to enemy starfighters, the cruisers and capital ships could handle the bigger enemy ships. Their job was to deal with the enemy small craft. Now approaching the planet of Commenor Sato could now see the vast cityscapes of the surface, and then he saw the massive amount of civilian traffic that was usually in orbit, all of it gathered in an uncoiling gathering of ships that the Separatists had tried to seize. Many of them were jumping away as the Republic pulled in, unwilling to be caught up in such a serious battle that a dreadnought and star destroyers were now involved.

Sighing in relief now that his turrets had fallen silent Sato watched for the waves of dropships to start their descent into the planet's atmosphere and start the process of destroying the droid forces on the ground. He saw them after a few moments, the red boxy craft dropping in long lines with their stubby wings fitted with rockets and their twin chin mounted laser turrets flew right by. He counted several hundred, with their fighter escorts, flying by at full speed as the Separatist fleet now poured into hyperspace, and left their droid army to die. Yet even as a junior naval lieutenant Sato knew full well that battle droids don't surrender.

Location: Atmosphere of Commenor

Flak rocked Captain Challis' F6 Infantry Dropship. It was a close call, one that he was none too comfortable with and so were the pilots. The sounds of the guns and several rockets being fired clearly proved this fact. His company was packed into a dozen F6 Dropships, and all were headed down to their objective, a tall commercial office building well-known to many in his company. The intelligence that they had was only the government schematics and the holographic images of the interior from security scanners that Guard Intelligence had somehow obtained.

But droid opposition was quite unknown to Challis, and he didn't like that. To not know something was a bad way to start the mission and he was certain he'd have to be quick on his feet and fast on the draw on this day. And more than that he'd have to be even quicker with his mind, over a hundred men and women under his command depended on that. The shaking and thuds of explosions from enemy flak guns and possibly the destruction of friendly dropships made this deadly fact all too clear. But he would soon find out what he and his men were made of, his dropship was going to be the first to touch down, and he himself would be the first to step out into combat.

"Captain, we're ten seconds out, pad is cleared of hostiles, but you have no cover," the co-pilot/gunner informed Challis over the comm.

"Copy that, just get us on the deck in one piece," Challis responded, then turned to the squad in the dropship bay with him, "Remember, get into the building and fan out, we don't want to be boxed in here!"

"Yes sir!"

The dropship slowed down drastically and then Challis saw the light go green and the back door opened and he jumped out and onto the durasteel platform and into a nighttime battlefield. The glow of the city was punctuated with the red and blue of laser bolts and the yellow of explosions. Republican Guard Dropships descended into the cityscape alongside a smaller number of LAAT Gunships from the Clone forces. Challis paid that no mind after the initial view and turned towards the building, A280 raised and ready. He saw a tangled mess that was the remnant of a pair of Dwarf Spider Droids and some B1's.

As his men dropped down and joined him Challis led the way towards the door down the short platform to a wide set of double doors. A couple speeders were parked here, and he checked to be sure no droids were taking cover there. Then he saw movement in the windows, and saw the form of the hook-shaped heads of battle droids rushing to the door through the opaque glass. Aiming his blaster he waited for the door to open and sure enough they came charging out.

A dozen of them surged forward and tried to spread out, but they got caught in the funnel of the door and Challis laid into them alongside his troopers. The first six fell easily, and then the other droids stopped to return fire, but were inaccurate enough that Challis got away with being caught in the open. The final droid fell as Challis got up to the door and a private moved directly inside with several others right behind him, rifles leveled as they'd been trained to do. Both checked their corners and were clear as more troopers rushed forwards.

"Take the hall to the right!" Challis ordered rapidly, walking a few steps to the platform as the second squad of his weapons platoon was deposited, "Your squad, take the left route," he said, pointing it out with his hand as the platoon leader rushed up to him.

"We setting up our cannons sir?"

"Not yet, wait until we move a bit further down and secure the top floors. I want a buffer zone for your cannons to cover a retreat just in case," Challis said calmly. He did this as the next squad, now under much less danger, was dropped off and began the process of offloading the parts to their E-Web Blaster Cannons, "If you find any of their dual repeaters stockpile and stage them in dominating points, they're good weapons, put them to use."

"Roger that Captain."

Now Kelrein ran up, "Sir, all squads have landed, we're starting to clear the top floors."

"Very well, we need to move fast and link up the platoons before they counterattack. Once we've linked up I want a Casualty Collection Point and a Company HQ set up side-by-side," Challis responded, barking out the orders as he'd remembered how to do them, "In the meantime-," he continued but then was stopped by a red string of laser fire zipping past their heads from an adjacent building.

"Down!" Kelrein ordered all of them instantly, grabbing Kelrein and pulling him to the deck, "You mustn't stand out in the open like that cap'n, you make yourself and the lads too tempting a target."

"Thank you sergeant. Return fire!" Challis nodded but returned to the situation at hand.

He lifted himself up and firing down slightly at the source of the fire, a group of battle droids on an open veranda on a building next to theirs. The other Commenor troopers obliged as well, firing down at the source, forcing the droids to take cover as the Guard troopers zeroed in on them. But Kelrein had the wiser course of action. Instead of firing at the droids he grabbed Challis and pulled him back from the edge into defilade.

"What'd you do that for?" Challis demanded.

"You'll thank me for this later. Crawl to the door boys, we've got no cover here."

Challis looked at the older man and was going to say something about being the superior officer but remembered that Kelrein had the experience he didn't. So he kept his mouth shut and motioned for the others to crawl to the door to the building. They made it with no problems and Challis stood up and saw the hall was mostly clear of his troopers who he could hear moving and yelling through the gray and white hallways. Firing wasn't coming as thick as he'd expected, and so he checked his company roster for any casualties. Seeing three men wounded he knew that they hadn't made it out unscathed so far, and still had a long ways to go.

"Where are we at?" he asked the squad leader of a group of troopers stacked up outside a large office.

"Group of droids in here sir, one's a droideka we think, we heard something rolling on the tile earlier," the sergeant responded.

"Move," Kelrein ordered and pulled out a small mirror from his pack that was attached to a stick, he poked it around and then saw a glimpse of two long-barreled Droideka Snipers pointing their blasters at the door. But when he saw them they saw his mirror and fired, putting a hole through the middle and took a chunk out of one of the corners, "You're lucky lads just snipers, roll a popper in and put a hole in each one's head afterwards and move on."

"Yes first sergeant."

The squad leader directed the man in the front to roll in one droid popper, which was done after a bit of fiddling with the device. As the trooper leaned over to toss the grenade into the room a blaster bolt met his hand when the weapon left it, burning a hole right through it. The young private screamed in pain as he grabbed the hand and leaned back away from the door, the smoke rising from the clean hole that had been burned through the palm. But the weapon still went off and Kelrein had to usher the group forward to finish off the droids. Blue flashes from blaster rifles signaled an end to the droids inside.

Challis looked inside to see a big room where the two sniper droidekas were keeled over on their sides with holes on their frontal shields. A single trooper walked over a put his blaster to one's head and fired and switched to the second one and did the same again. This time though a rocket fired from another building somewhere nearby slammed into the floor, and blew the window and part of the floor out. The trooper was thrown ten feet forward to land on the ground amongst a heap of glass and bits of rubble. Challis immediately saw he wasn't hurt, but he was most definitely shaken as he crawled away from the window. Once he was behind cover one of his comrades with a DLT-18 rushed over to the desk and popped out his bipod and opened fire along with a couple other troopers as red laser fire poured back at them but at a lesser rate from the left.

"I stand corrected sir, those lads are very lucky," Kelrein laughed.

"I see that," Challis nodded, and moved on past a couple of lightly wounded troopers, "You alright boys?"

"We're fine sir," one nodded, his voice not betraying pain or weakness.

Then he heard a yelling from around the corner where a rack of turbolifts were located. Running over he saw the three lifts beeping as their cargoes of enemy droids rose towards them. A pair of fireteams were located here, with a few desks kicked over to act as cover. The two repeating blasters were in a good crossfire on either side of the large opening that stretched downwards as an open space that went up another floor and down for at least another dozen. A third fireteam from the same squad was directly opposite from the turbolifts and had been taking potshots down at any exposed droid they saw, covering another couple squads working their way down a spiraling staircase that was on the rounded out walls away from the edge.

"The turbolifts, shift your aim!" Challis ordered the squad leader immediately as he saw the squad not noticing that they had incoming.

"Get down sir, things are likely to be messy," Kelrein advised, kneeling down and aiming at the turbolift that was closest to them.

The first one arrived as the Republic troopers aimed at the door, and when it opened they were immediately caught off guard by the terrifying sight of a Droideka with shield deployed, standing with dual blaster cannons aimed and ready to fire. Flanking it to the sides was a pair of B2 Super Battle Droids and behind it were six B1's. The Droideka immediately waddled out, being peppered by blaster fire from all angles as it turned and fired at the fireteam to Challis's right. The first blaster bolts struck the fireteam leader directly in the chest, sending him flat against the wall with two holes in his upper chest. The B2's opened fire to the left, and the first was hit in the chest and almost had its chest plate torn off by the combined fire but the second got several shots off that hit the DLT-18 gunner in the chest and he just bent back and dropped backwards onto the ground. The B1's poured out, and the fire from their direct front caught their attention as three of their number fell almost instantly.

"Take out that destroyer!" Kelrein roared at the men facing it from behind cover as they were quickly pinned down, firing at the last super as another bell rang and a dozen B1's with a single B2 marched out of the second turbolift.

The fireteam to the right took another pair of casualties to these new arrivals as a droid popper was lobbed at the gaggle of droids by the squad leader, dropping all but the Droideka and a group of ten more B1's that marched out of the newly arrived third turbolift with two shielding B2's. They opened fire on the left-hand side, killing another of their number and wounding the third member as he grabbed for his comrade. Thankfully though another squad from second platoon arrived on the scene from above Challis's own position and tore into the droids below. But the Droideka was still advancing. However the last trooper left on her fireteam took her chance shoved the desk she was behind over onto the droid. The heavy wooden desk slammed into the top of the droid and it shuffled towards the metal wall as the desk slid off and the young trooper quickly ran over and shoved her A280 against the very center of the droid and fired a fully automatic burst. The powerful bolts tore it apart as she screamed in fury at it until the droid's legs gave out and its shield dropped. The frightened girl however didn't stop, and kept firing at it as she stood over it. Challis ran over, Kelrein behind him, knowing she needed to stop and breathe.

"Trooper!" he yelled at her, grabbing the rifle and causing her to immediately stop. He could hear the girl's panting over the helmet's speaker and knew that behind her broad T-shaped visor she had wild eyes, "It's dead, help your fireteam."

"It killed them…this piece of shit killed them!" she roared, kicking at the fractured, and burning metal corpse.

"One's alive trooper, help the medic, get your mate to the CCP," Kelrein ordered firmly, "Come on then."

He ushered her towards the wounded man, a blaster bolt having hit his arm which he held, quietly groaning with his helmet against the wall looking up and shaking his head in pain. The shaken trooper rushed over as a medic made it over, checking the other two, but her squad leader and their grenadier were both dead. Challis made way for another pair of medics who rushed past him to the other troopers from the second brutalized fireteam and began seeing to the two wounded that they had. Challis checked on them as well, both were in bad shape, one was panting, trying not to cry as the medic tried prying his hands away from his abdomen, the other was weakly writhing with his almost shattered helmet on the ground. His face was badly burned as a medic tried cleaning the blackened pieces from it as blood poured from the cracked wounds and onto the floor. The captain kneeled down to the dead repeating blaster gunner, seeing that he was on his back, arms at his side and his left leg folded up underneath him and right one bent out and towards the desk. Challis saw the clear heartshot in his white and red armor chest piece, still smoking with only a dull glow just barely visible.

He'd just lost three of his men in one firefight with another three wounded. This was the first time he'd seen a dead body before in person. It was unsettling, and it was especially painful that this was one of his own men. Challis felt a need to see the man's face, hoping that the sensors were wrong, that he was still alive somehow beneath that helmet. But when he reached down he felt a hand on his shoulder. Challis looked up and saw Kelrein there. The squad older NCO shook his head, knowing that the man was dead and looking into his face would do Challis no good.

"The boy's gone sir. And he won't be the last," he said to him quietly.

Challis felt like his lunch was coming back up from the way it had gone down. He needed to find a place to puke without the men seeing him. To see him like that would shake their confidence, and right now that was the last thing they needed. As their company commander he needed to be the rock on which they leaned upon. Weakness from him would damage the confidence they had in him to keep them alive with his decisions. So ducking into a nearby refresher Challis ripped off his helmet and without making a move to open the door smashed his way to the nearest toilet and coughed out what little he'd eaten beforehand. He hacked and coughed until he heard the door open behind him and he gathered himself and turned and picked up his helmet. There he saw First Sergeant Kelrein, leaning against the sinks, his own helmet off.

Kelrein was an older man, in his thirties, with a thin beard and his hair wasn't perfectly uniform length, but he was the most experienced man in the company and Challis knew that didn't matter so long as Kelrein kept him alive and his company alive.

"You look awful Cap'n," Kelrein noted, beating around the bush.

"If you have something to say First Sergeant say it," Challis said as he went to a sink and turned it on, and washed his mouth out.

"It's a terrible business we're in sir. The business of killing is the harshest of all, sure we get nice shiny medals for a job well done, but we tend to lose our own along the way. Such is the nature of things, can't blame yourself, do that and you'll tear yourself apart, far worse than any blaster or shrapnel," Kelrein explained.

"How, how do I not blame myself? I'm their commander, it's my job to get them home safe."

"Aye it is, and blaming yourself does nothing. You want to blame someone blame fate, death's got all our names written down for some time at some place. When our time comes it comes. But we can still choose how we meet it. We've all chosen to face death with a blaster in our hands, I can't think of many other ways for a real man to leave this world."

"And when it's your time?" Challis inquired.

"Oh I intend on going to death's door with a smile on my face, for the first time since I was eighteen I'll be able to sleep in," the old NCO smiled.

"I suppose so."

Location: Edusa, Headquarters and Training Center for Confederate Patriot Forces

The lush temperate world was a nice place to set up their headquarters, Dooku had at least seen fit to grant them that kind of comfort. The planet was a lot like Corellia, Carida, and Alderaan, green and full of life and a decently large population thriving upon the advanced farming communities and ranches that fed many Confederate worlds in the sector. The cities were clean and modern, with blocky and simple white metal and glass buildings amongst grass verandas and tree-lined boardwalks. The spaceports were a busy hub of honest trade, with loaded merchantmen traveling peacefully back and forth, all under the watchful eye of Separatist battle droids.

Its two billion inhabitants had no problem living under the Separatist flag, and welcomed the newly minted Fleet Admiral Korra Der and her assembled staff in an elaborate and well-documented event. It was all war propaganda of course and she did her duty, making sure her dark blue uniform and the gold padding on her shoulders and upper bicep were crisp and clean, her rank symbol well-polished on her chest. Her dark hair never came undone from its bun, and she was happy that her combination cover hadn't come off. It was a dark blue and golden affair with shiny black leather and golden embroidery on the brim and the Confederate Hexagon in the center of the central band and on the back it had a cloth cover that dropped down to her collar and covered her ears and tapered back. Her gloves were the same yellowish gold as her shoulders and arms had and went to the middle of her forearms over her shirt.

Now she was in her normal duty uniform, which was similar to her dress uniform, minus the hat and the elaborate embroidery. Within her secure headquarters she was designing her new command to become a prime example of military precision and symbol of Separatist might. To help her she had ship designs that no one else had access to, stolen and modified KDY designs. Der was more than aware of how dangerous Kuat's ship designs could be when used right. But she had an additional ace up her sleeve, a pair of automated warship designs, one the size of a fifty meter long gunship and the other a one hundred and fifty meter frigate. So to have designs of that kind of efficiency coupled with massive industrial power meant that Der's job was much more attainable.

"Well here we are, the headquarters of the Confederate Patriot Forces," she said as she entered the command center, a square room with a pair of large holotables and control screens and stations along the walls in trenches below the main command deck, "Best get started."

"How exactly do we start?" one of her staff asked.

"Basics, organization. We need to create a force that is capable of spreading itself thin and still being capable of matching Republic forces one on one. The RVC's task forces, two of them had engaged our probing forces at Commenor, it looks like they've upgraded, we need a force to challenge that basic unit," she said, tapping a control and pulled up the list of ships and the number of them that the Republican Guard had.

"It looks like they are based around their Imperator, with their corvettes and cruisers providing a forward screen and their starfighters being their strike arm," her Chief of Operations pointed out.

"Correct, so we'll need to base our own basic unit around the only ship we have in numbers that can take on an Imperator," Der said, and pulled up another section of the holotable, this one with a list of ship classes that the CIS used, and tapped the ring-shaped battleship, "A Lucrehulk should serve this purpose."

She pulled up another design, this one being one of the stolen KDY designs, the nine hundred meter long star destroyer. This class and the cruiser design it was stolen with were being built already alongside an original design for the Separatists, a wedge-shaped light escort cruiser, two hundred and forty meters long and a hundred meters wide armed with anti-starfighter laser turrets. She pulled up these designs, toying with the numbers in her head as she got input from her staff on the logistics and of it all. However she soon had the right balance.

The basic layout they created was well-balanced and quite powerful, they decided on the name Patriot Squadron for this, as per CIS organizational precedent. It was based around a single Lucrehulk-Class Battleship, with four of the Type-1 Class Star Destroyers as its main striking arm along with eight Type-2 Class Cruisers, and twelve Type-3 Escort Cruisers as their actual manned warships. What made up the bulk of their Squadrons' numbers would be the Type-4 Class Automated Frigates and the Type-5 Class Automated Gunships. Each one had twenty frigates and thirty-two gunships, giving them eighteen small automated warships, each with a dangerous ship-to-ship proton torpedo tube and no sense of danger.

"So, we've got a force I think can take a Republic Task Force one on one, this'll give Drexel a wake-up call," Der nodded as she looked at her work, and was satisfied, "Now, up the ante, increase the size to the next unit class, Task Force."

"A pair of Squadrons working in concert would allow for tactical flexibility and with this many ships we can easily cover a larger front," her operations chief responded.

"Agreed, then…I don't think a Task Group-sized unit is needed let's go to Fleet, four of five Task Forces you think?"

A smattering a 'five' came from the assembled officers and she nodded, knowing that was probably for the best. This type of thing continued, the basic organization and training on tactics of this new force being discussed broadly. Then came the hard part, training for the average soldier and crewman. This was the problem that the Confederate Patriot Forces had. Training took time, and they had no standardized curriculum for which to work their personnel. This would take time, and time was not their ally, the Republic was growing in strength and boldness. They needed something quick, and the answer to that came in the form of the Republic's volunteer forces themselves.

The Republican Guard's training regimen was well-documented, they only needed to copy and condense it, modifying basics like operating with their own vehicles and weapons and folding in a new type of tactic, fighting alongside battle droids. They had plenty of volunteers for serving the cause of freedom from the Republic's oppression. Over a million had been pledged from across the CIS's worlds. There were weapons available to them as well, advanced variants of the E-5, the E-5C, a faster firing, safer, and more accurate weapon originally meant as a market competitor to the A280. Now, that weapon, as well as others, would be facing their marketplace competitors.

Der looked her ground component's weapons list, vehicle list, organizational charts, and she was certainly glad she was not having to specifically deal with the outfitting and training of her ground forces. Their plan for creating them was simple however, but still rather complex in the details. The CPF ground forces were comprised of two branches, a biological branch and a droid branch that had biological commanders at the battalion level and at every level leading up to the army level. These droids were identically equipped and armed as their brethren elsewhere in the CIS's military. But the elite shock force was the biological component. Each Army Group had a division of ten thousand biological troops, slated to act as heavy mobile infantry, just like the Republican Guard.

It wasn't just the E-5C Blaster Rifle that was unique to the CPF troopers, it was their vehicles, specialist variants of existing models were being produced. The Platoon Assault Craft was the mainstay of their force, and had been heavily modified. The vehicle, normally used as a light auxiliary droid deployer of the MTT was now a formidable vehicle in its own right. An enclosed cockpit was added with a driver a gunner manning a fully rotating heavy laser turret above him with two doors on the armored cabin for the troops to man two Dual-Barrel Repeating Blaster Cannons. The cabin itself had enough space for the whole platoon to ride comfortably within and could deploy from the rear hatch, two side hatches, or through the bottom. There were four of these to a company and were supported by a stolen design, the WLO-5 Speeder Tank, a venerable, simple fighting vehicle that would provide all the support that the infantry needed. The heavy hitter, the AAT, had been modified to only need three crewmen, and had a Dual-Barrel Repeater on the commander's turret ring for anti-infantry duty and they'd been organized into squadrons of twenty-four tanks at the commanded at the battalion level. Also at the battalion level were newly redesigned Ground Armored Tanks, a nearly obsolete design shown to be next to worthless in the early stages of the war. These light recon tanks had themselves a new crew compartment for a single scout to control the vehicle on long range reconnaissance missions and had a bit of additional armor tacked on. This came as a result of the refusal of the use of the STAP, and seeing as there were a lot of GAT's just lying about the choice was a simple one.

There were other additional modified designs, like the MTT being the base chassis for two artillery pieces, a multi-purpose platform holding a proton cannon, and a rocket artillery piece using four of the same missile launchers as the Hailfire Droid Tank, which was itself phased out and its components and ammunition easily available. The MTT was also the basic supply and medical transport vehicle for the SPF as well, with lower levels of command having a command and control variant at their disposal. For the higher levels of command the Multi-Utility Transport was the go-to vehicle of choice, with a large platform mounted around the top holding enclosed turrets and walkways with the necessary communications gear it was a fully equipped command vehicle. There would be one key difference in addition to CPF vehicles and droids from their regular comrades, they'd be camouflaged with matching paints beforehand, more as a way of identification than anything.

Der's ground forces were built for mobility, just the same as the Republican Guard was, the only thing that they didn't have was a fully equipped suit of armor for their soldiers. Each man would have a camouflage uniform with soft semi-resistant padding on his shoulders, chest, and thighs. They had black ammunition vests and camouflaged uniform pants with a rigid backpack. They did have a newly designed helmet, the ACH-14 Combat Helmet with the CIS Hexagon on the front of the medal ring. This had been paired with a set of targeting goggles and a smooth-faced gas mask that could provide a night vision view in the dark. To be fair they were well-equipped, and with the E-5C each man was quite well-armed with a rapid firing rifle with decent range and a basic scope mounted on it. Of course they would have rocket launchers for dealing with enemy armor, and a weapons platoon per company with mortars and heavier blaster cannons to round out their arsenal.

And it was this arsenal that was being rounded out in this meeting with Der's signature of approval. Her new command was shaping up quickly. She could look onto a viewscreen that looked outside to see the large training camps that her forces were setting up to see that. Training was beginning here and on a couple other worlds deep in CIS space. And most important to her were the new ships being built for their forces in shipyards on the outer fringes of the galaxy, mapped into open space by the CIS's droid exploration probes to create a secret massing point for the thousands of ships being built out there. When those ships and troops and crews were ready, she'd strike the Republic, and maybe, just maybe, Grand Admiral Drexel would come out to meet her fleet. If that happened, she intended on him being the one surrendering to her.

 **Wow, what a data dump huh? But I had to get this information down somewhere right? It took me forever to create a worthy force to combat the Republican Guard, and trust me, this will be a helluva match-up between the two. And I actually think I'm going to go AU with this one, bit by bit. The power of both the RVC and the CPF is just way ahead of what could be expected to exist in canon.**

 **So yeah, the battle on Commenor was also pretty gritty, and will continue to be that way. Urban warfare is a bit of a bitch. If you have any ideas on what kind of scene or tactics you'd like to suggest let me know, be glad to hear new ideas.**

 **As always, leave me your impressions on the chapter and how you think the story is progressing.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Fighting down the tower, and the Separatist offensive kicks into gear around Kashyyyk.**


	17. Chapter 17

Location: City of Munto, Planet Commenor

Wyatt and the rest of Echo company had managed to draw the short straw on this day. Their mission was to take a shopping center on the left bank of the valley city of Munto, which was in the depths of winter, and this place was a ski resort town. Ideally suited in its placement the city was covered in snow, and they were heavily distressed to see that the city's streets were compact and difficult to navigate for their armored vehicles.

It was an old city, with the rustic exterior look still holding modern appliances, fittings, and whatnot. But the structures were still solid gray stone facades with brick walls on the terraces and balconies of the resort shopping center, with natural pine wood posts and railings and a solid mix of stone and wood in the bridges over the frozen creeks that flowed amongst the buildings. The snow was well-tended whenever the civilian grounds crew were around, but with war being brought to their front step the troopers found themselves crunching over an inch or two of snow and patches of ice. There were no lights on, power having been cut to the city by the Separatists.

"First platoon! On me, let's go fellas," Lieutenant Yuno called out, gathering the platoon to him.

"Oh man," Hal, one of Wyatt's two new replacements in his fireteam, whispered as a speeder truck carrying dozens of civilians came past them along with numerous civilian speeders with civilians and their possessions packed in.

Others were walking by in the falling snow, many of them children, cuddled up in their heavy coats. This, seeing civilians having war affect them in such a way, was troubling. This was especially true of the youngest children just blankly staring at the massive white armored soldiers that towered over their tiny frames and large loud tanks rolling by them, shaking the road under their very feet. What shook the soldiers the most was seeing one small girl being carried by her father with a bloody bandage around her head and tears going down her cheeks, a casualty of war. One couldn't help but pray that this wouldn't happen to their own homes.

"Hey, pay attention rookie," Wyatt said, grabbing Hal and pushing Kyly towards the platoon's gathering point under a balcony, "They'll be okay, they're borrowing our tents for shelter until we take the city."

"Right…"

The troopers were all in their standard uniformed armor, white with their red markings. They didn't have much else to carry into battle except their necessary combat gear. Wyatt had his fireteam set up by the book. He himself carried the CLS (Combat Lifesaver) kit and Eva had the DLT-18 and a couple extra powerpacks. The main extras were carried by Kyly Gori, their other new replacement. Hal had the team's rocket launcher on his back with a special rocket carrying pack with five extra rockets inside, giving them six in total, counting the one loaded into the launcher itself. They had additional water canteens strapped to their backpacks' outer webbing pocket along with a shovel clipped into its holder. Their utility belts were also fully stocked, and a bit heavier than Clone ones, with a small med kit on their right hip, a canteen on their left, and a folded up poncho in a larger pack on their backs on their loaded up belts. Many had taken to attaching their knives to their right forearms or shoulder plates with their SSK-7 Blaster Pistols in their preferred hanging magnetic armor pad that hung from their belts on both sides to the upper portion of their thighs.

To say the least the Republican Guard appeared to fall into the guise of heavy infantry, with more equipment and firepower than Clone Trooper units of similar sizes. And this coming fight was exactly what they were meant for, and many of the rookies were intent on proving this.

"The battalion's swinging down to cut through to the space port, Echo Company is leading the way. Between here and the battalion's objective is a Separatist strongpoint in a large shopping mall with a large droid garrison," their company commander, Captain Lurean, said to his troopers, helmet off, "Echo Company will destroy that garrison. Any questions? Good, 1st Platoon leads out, we will approach along with armored support down the secondary streets. There's not much armor out there anymore, but watch for anti-tank teams and hiding gun positions."

It seemed simple enough for them, simple was good, it meant there was less to deal with. And the word of no enemy tanks to deal with a nice surprise. Droids never went anywhere without vehicle support, and those vehicles, unlike their biologically crewed opponents, didn't fear death. But this was normal to them by now, having been engaged in several pitched field engagements against the droids. However, for the Tanaab boys, this was a new place for them to fight. The 3rd Guards Legion had never been engaged in true urban combat before.

"Alright first platoon move it out!" Lieutenant Yuno called out as they moved up towards the front of a line of fifteen T1-APC's and four T4-A tanks, "First squad, up front! Second and third behind them!"

The three other platoons including Weapons fell as well with 2nd Platoon on the left hand side of the road paralleling 1st Platoon with 3rd behind 1st and Weapons behind 2nd. The first two leading vehicles, T4-A's, were followed by four of the APC's and then with two more tanks in the middle with the rest of the T1's in the rear of the formation along with a pair of medivac vehicles in the far rear. The column began moving shortly after they all got into position.

Wyatt found himself with Hal behind him, Eva behind him, and Kyly behind her. This fireteam was the second in line of their squad, with their squad leader up front and Lieutenant Yuno next to them. The tracked tanks rolled forward, their turrets aiming forward as they advanced off center, so that both turrets were able to be brought to bear to the front. Wyatt was up front, their responsibility being to clear the houses and keep an eye out for enemy anti-tank teams and scout for enemy vehicles.

They had a position on a curving road that went down to the next terrace with a line of buildings with some having alleys to the back and a long service alley in the one on the right side where the main road button hooked to the right and went down to the next terraced level. A couple burning AAT's were on the road already, one with a wing shattered and on its side, and the other tilted over on its side with a handful of droids on the ground already. A Platoon Attack Craft with a shattered droid deployment rack sat empty on the ground just around the corner. An HMP Droid Gunship burned against the shattered front facade of a building and they could feel the heat from its burning fuel cells and the occasional pop of its munitions going off. The buildings were simply ones, with balconies with snow and ice on the edges and some icicles hanging from the overhangs. The snow was stacking up on the road itself and the droid vehicles was already becoming coated in a thin layer of fresh white powder. In the dark of the night and falling snow the unit had a hard time seeing all that far except for isolated lights and fires burning orange.

"First building, go!" Lieutenant Yuno quickly ordered his squad leader and their first fireteam stacked up on a small caf shop, and then ducked inside, there were no shots and they began to work their way to the back as the platoon advanced past them, "Lullian, take that shop," he then ordered the young fireteam.

"On me," Wyatt said as he moved up to the wall of the shop and then pointed his blaster inside and flashed his rifle's attached flashlight, immediately he was glad he was in cover, "Contact!"

Red blaster bolts flew at his head and shattered the glass and he ducked back and calmly pulled a grenade from his belt and tossed it in. A loud explosion surprised him and it was then that he realized he'd grabbed a thermal detonator instead of a droid popper. But without hesitating he turned the corner and stepped over the hip high brick wall into the destroyed restaurant. With their flashlights cutting the darkness they could see tables and chairs were laying everywhere, some of them on fire and all were badly charred and damaged. The others in his fireteam followed immediately as they took up their positions within the room as Wyatt moved up along the wall and kicked at the two droids he came across, thrown roughly against the wall and fired a shot into their heads.

"That was it?" Hal asked, and then they all heard a low clang of metal on metal.

"Check the kitchen," Wyatt ordered, pointing to the swinging door in the back corner.

The group made its way to the back and Hal poked his rifle through the hole behind the bar where orders came from the kitchen. He immediately fired several bolts from his rifle at two B1's trying to set up a Dual Barrel Repeating Blaster Cannon and destroyed both quickly.

"Got two!" he triumphantly yelled.

"Breach, there's gotta more," Eva said as Wyatt went to the back and pointed his rifle into the swinging door, seeing nothing.

"Kyly, kick it in," Wyatt ordered and the young replacement nodded and kicked in the door, and the two girls moved in with Wyatt right behind them, "Clear."

Then there was the sound of metal feet clanking in the back hall, where Wyatt knew the freezer and back entrance to be. He walked to the entrance of the hall and when he got there the door was just opening and a B2 Super Battle Droid with a rocket launcher leveled its deadly weapon down the hall towards them. Eva didn't flinch and fired a fully automatic burst from her cover below Wyatt against the wall. The rocket was beaten by the laser bolts and the droid's chest was riddled with holes and the droid's rocket arm spun slightly and fired into a stack of bottles of cooking oil and exploded, sending slick flaming oil spilling into the floor. The smoke came out immediately as other boxes of food caught fire and the black smoke choked the hall as red laser bolts from B1's came firing down through the smoke and flame.

"Get out!" Wyatt called out and fired a grenade down at the source and a flash and concussion silenced them temporarily. He retreated out through the area that they had come as the flames from more spilling bottles flooded towards them, enlarging the fire.

The fireteam came staggering back into the open, black soot from the flame darkening their armor. Lieutenant Yuno was right there beside the building, eager to hear the story about why a restaurant had just caught fire.

"Corporal I hope you have an explanation!" the man called out.

"Rocket Super, fired into a stack of cooking oil in the back hall, choked it off, no one could survive that," Wyatt dutifully reported, "They're hiding in the alley, gotta be at least another squad back there, we got four B1's and the Super, no telling how many I got with the launcher in the back hall."

Lieutenant Yuno nodded in response, looking at the building starting to pour out thick black smoke and orange flames spread from the back to the wood decorated front.

"Not a good start to being an NCO, burning down a centuries old building. I suppose it couldn't be helped, fall in as planned."

"Yes sir," Wyatt said as the four of them.

As ordered they took cover, waiting for the rest of the company's infantry to pass them by as the rest began to clear forward, the tanks grinding forward. By now the restaurant was burning hot and fast and the building's fire suppression system was going at full power and a pair of firefighter speeders came up to the building, hovering over the column as they began spraying the building. Firefighters dropped to the ground with backpack mounted spray canisters.

Wyatt couldn't help but intervene in their duty, this being a warzone and all.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Wyatt called out to them as he grabbed one of them, unable to see their face or eyes through their bulky gas mask and goggles, "Don't you see we're in the middle of a war?!"

"If that fire gets any bigger the whole street's gone, we gotta move now to save the area," the muffled voice came back at them as white fire suppressant was pouring into the fire and they began beating it back.

"Corporal what the hell is going on here?!" their company commander called out, walking up as the firefighters entered the building.

"We can't let this fire get out of control!" the fire chief responded in turn and so the argument began.

Eva however was watching the firefighters carefully, and saw them get to the back of the room and then three were spewing out white material into the back as they fought the flames. But the young troopers what awaited behind the flames. She was not at all surprised when the sounds of blaster fire rang out and the firefighters, through a much lesser amount of smoke and fire sprinted out and the troopers snapped into action again.

"I told them! I fekking told them!" Wyatt snapped angrily as they ran inside and they saw a long line of droids emerging from the kitchen, firing at them all.

The troopers engaged at point blank range, firing into droid after droid in seemed to be an unending counter attack. The T1-APC's unleashed their own turrets as more infantry joined the battle as an explosion rocked one of the other buildings next to it as droids began pouring from there. They'd taken cover in the alley, over two hundred of them awaiting the chance to ambush the advancing company of Republic troopers and vehicles. A missile was fired from the kitchen and punched into the side of the closest APC and the vehicle dropped to the ground and the crew scrambled out, one of them having his right leg torn off and another with his arm on fire.

Other buildings that hadn't been thought to be able to be fed from the alley were blown open in the back and the droids began swarming them from close range as more rockets got fired and another T1-APC got smashed into its flank and began burning. Wyatt was grateful that his fireteam was in cover behind the front wall where they were starting to put the droids down as quickly as they emerged. But the droid counterattack ended rather quickly when two large cannon shots pretty much shattered the kitchen wall and the droids inside were wiped out in the blast. Wyatt turned to see a T4-A Tank rolled up behind them and fired again into the next building over, blowing open the wall in a cloud of dust and smoke. Several more volleys finished the droid attack and Wyatt could breathe again.

"Everyone okay?" he asked his fireteam.

"I'm good!" Eva called out and Wyatt nudged Hal, sitting there next to him.

"Hal, you good kid?"

"Is this what you guys all the time?" the young trooper asked.

"Nah, this is a slow day," Wyatt chuckled as Kyly moved up to look in at the wreckage that had been inflicted on the building, and saw that all the walls inside were pretty much gone and the flames had been mostly extinguished.

They looked back to see their own forces had taken a bit of a shot in the nose, with several troopers on the ground and more than a few firefighters trying to tend to them. Both of their own disabled T1's were burning now and the firefighters were redirecting their hoses to extinguish those flames. All-in-all it was a rude introduction to urban warfare. And that was only the couple hundred feet.

Location: Orbit over Commenor, Star Destroyer Dauntless

Task Forces Three and Four had linked up with the Basilisk and Task Forces One and Nine after they'd secured orbit, bringing the Guard fleet up to a hundred and forty one ships, including four Imperator and twelve Venator-Class Star Destroyers and an additional two Guard Army Corps totaling a hundred and twenty thousand ground troops fresh from Corellia. However, even with the reinforcements and the already engaged Clone fleet the Separatists had been assumed to have amassed a sizeable fleet to even dare attacking so close to the Inner Core as Commenor.

Finding that fleet and disrupting that fleet's operations was now top of the priorities list for the Republican Guard. The probe droids and spies were handling the finding part of this job, and the starfighter squadrons were handling the disruption part. The newly minted Captain Teela Abya, in charge of her own flight of four F-Wings, had a mission that was just part of that particular duty. Standing in the hangar of the Dauntless she was one of sixty pilots from five squadrons drawn for the purpose of a new mission.

On the ground a holo emitter was showing them the view of a Separatist base that had somehow sprung up overnight on the moon Vivyis-12, a temperate world orbiting a gas giant. It was a nice little place with a breathable atmosphere and a handful of Wookiee colonies. The planet's forests in the more equatorial portion of the world had massive trees that the local Wookiees had used for their homes.

In the middle of an isolated and sandy desert the Separatists had managed to build a fairly large base in secret. The large square walled-in facility was defended by circular twin autoturrets located on the towers that were spread over the tall and thick walls every fifty meters. There were twenty of these turrets on the walls along with perhaps dozens of smaller Dual-Barrel Repeating Blaster Cannons mounted on the walls and in pillboxes. A pair of hangars were lined up on the west wall and reconnaissance probe droids had seen Scarab Droid Starfighters flying back and forth from the hangars and intelligence estimated that as many as sixty of them could be inside both hangars. A vehicle depot had tanks and other armored vehicles inside a command center with a big sensor dish connected to a hundred meter tall communications tower. There were also droid storage and repair shops along the walls and in the center of the facility around the main comms center. What it was assumed to be was a large sensor and communications hub, transmitting data to Separatist space and was likely helping to coordinate CIS Intelligence's efforts as part of their offensive.

"Intelligence has made it clear that this is a priority target everyone, command wants it reduced to sand. For that, we've got two squadrons of Y-Wings. In attack formation you lot will execute a long range low-level precision torpedo run and clear out their turrets. Then the three squadrons of F-Wings will mop up and the Y-Wings will execute a high-altitude run, carpet bombing the whole base. It's pretty simple so don't screw it up, your approach vectors will hug the ground, with a single squadron on overwatch to engage their pickets. You will approach from the dark side of the moon, angling your atmospheric approach away from their sensors at full speed," Commander App, their CAG, summarized the briefing.

"Which of us is on overwatch sir?" another squadron commander asked.

"The Squadron 43, the Silver Blades," App responded, "Squadron 56 will be on the right flank and Squadron 78 will be on the left with the bombers in between. One last thing, maintain a loose formation, don't want any collisions at low of an altitude. Any other questions?"

"If we run into enemy patrol ships in orbit what's the plan?"

"If you are compromised you'll keep your distance and report. We're getting a live feed from our probe in orbit however, no enemy ships in planetary orbit or in the nearby moons."

After waiting for more questions, of which there were none, Commander App dismissed the five squadrons and they all began to jog to their starfighters. They'd been prepped already, and they themselves had just now had their own preparation. The attack force was ready, and the squadrons began getting sealed into their starfighters quite quickly. Teela gave her flight a bit of advice as she climbed up to the cockpit of her starfighter, glad to see the kill markers for the more than fifty enemy starfighters she'd brought down. But they were mostly Vultures and Hyenas, she wanted some Scarabs to add to her today. Scarabs were a rare sight nowadays, due to their expensive price tag and aged status compared to newer cheaper enemy fighters like Vultures. Couple that with their light shields and nabbing a few of those fighters was an accomplishment whereas a Vulture Droid, a single one, was no big prize. However, as usual, the mission always came first.

"All fighters, launch by sequence, good luck and good hunting," the fighter controller called out to them and Teela acknowledged by lighting up her engines, and zipped her starfighter straight out and followed the line of other F-Wings into open space.

"All fighters, group up, section formations, let do it by the book," the mission leader called out as the Y-Wings joined them, "Make the jump, now."

The squadrons all poured into hyperspace, all sixty of them. It was a good start to returning to combat for Teela and her squadron, nothing massive like their initial baptism by fire at Yag'Dhul, but nothing small like four-ship patrols to sensor sweep blind spots in the moon belts of big gas giants which was just hours of boredom. This, a strike mission against a ground target with slow, nearly obsolete enemy starfighters as opposition was a nice way to get back in the groove.

"Silver Squadron, do one last systems check," her squadron leader quickly ordered the twelve F-Wings under his command, "Make sure everything's good to go."

"Copy Silver One," she responded, "Let's make sure we've polished the guns kids."

Teela tapped her systems check button and after it ran for five of the fifteen minutes it took to get to Vivyus-12 the result came back green as it was when they had jumped. She clicked the already activated safety on her weapons and rolled her shoulders back as she waited for them to jump out of hyperspace. The rest of the flight was probably doing likewise, and she could see that they were almost there after a fairly short hyperspace jump.

"Remember the plan, we jump in, accelerate to the Y-Wings' attack speed, and Silver Squadron stays above the formation to shield the bombers from enemy air patrols. The bombers engage with long range torpedoes and once the guns are gone the fighters jump the Scarabs that will start deploying. Bombers will break off, climb out of the engagement zone, and in formation will carpet bomb the base and we jump back to the fleet after disengaging. When we drop out of hyperspace we go black on comms."

After everyone gave a quick copy the fighter pilots all saw the blue of hyperspace disappear and the fleet of F-Wings and Y-Wings jumped out of hyperspace as the visual image of the planet in front of them grew in size. Teela pushed her throttle to the marked speed and the fighters zoomed towards the planet with the Y-Wings close behind, matching speed. The atmosphere quickly buffeted the formations as they entered on the dark side of the planet. The cloud enveloped them as they all dove for the deck, and Teela could see the forest below her as the formations entered a mountain range at speed.

Teela caught sight of several settlements, glowing on the mountainous ground as they passed, and was surprised to see that due to the Wookiees supposed love of the forest. But ignored it as they swerved through the rain break that created the desert the droid base was built in. They exited the mountains fairly easily, with their night vision and sensors working precisely as promised the Y-Wings were easily kept up with. The F-Wings of Silver Squadron began to climb and took position over the line of friendly formations as the desert came into view and the Y-Wings began lining up. Silently, the F-Wings did likewise, and Teela saw the first signs of the enemy on her scopes. Two flights of four Scarab Starfighters patrolled at high altitude, circling their homebase. Teela saw the red dots on her HUD clear as day, and waited for the signal from the Y-Wings.

That signal came when her sensors picked up the base ahead of them, and the Y-Wings unleashed their planned two torpedoes and broke away. The red glowing weapons zipped away at high speed, and closed in on the base. The sudden sensor signals of incoming proton torpedoes caught the droids' sensors off-guard, but as per standard practice, their response was rapid. The Scarabs above them began to form for an attack and Teela jerked her nose upwards to meet them and targeted them with her missiles a moment before ordered to do so. Her rapid and aggressive attack made her flight stumble to keep up as she increased to full throttle and fired two missiles up at the formation of diving Scarabs.

"All wings attack! Engage those fighters!" Silver One called out as Teela watched with anticipation as both missiles homed in on their targets and smashed both old model droid fighters, crushing their shields sent both spinning downwards in a bright orange explosion that lit up the night sky.

"That's two! Try to keep up!" she teased her squadron mates and closed in with her prey.

She began firing slightly out of range and the laser bolts began slashing by the Scarabs and several hit their shields as they came down at the F-Wings. Red laser bolts slashed right back at her from their four cannons and she spun to evade the fire that was quite accurate. The others engaged as well and the two fighters burst into flames as they were struck repeatedly from Teela's own flight. The other four airborne Scarabs got picked off at long range by the other section of Republic fighters as the enemy began scrambling.

This happened the same moment the Y-Wings torpedoes struck the base's autoturret defenses. The explosions lit up the desert as the entirety of the base's anti-aircraft weapons were destroyed or damaged. But not all were knocked out. Four of the weapons were still operational and began to pepper explosive fire up at the formations of fighters that approached them. The other two squadrons of fighters engaged with missiles and dropped several enemy fighters as they flew out of their hangars. The explosions lit up the airspace as Teela nosed over and locked her sights onto three Scarabs that had left the base's confines and were starting to circle to engage the Republican Guard formations.

"Three squirters Bravo Flight, let's take 'em," she ordered and the four fighters swung down, dipping their wings and inverting themselves as Teela led them into a tight diving left turn to get on the Scarabs' tails.

An unannounced missile was loosed from her wingman and the warhead smashed into the pontoon wing of the trailing Scarab, severing it and sent the enemy fighter tumbling to the dark sands below. They engaged now with lasers as the four F-Wings tore into the slow fighters and peppered their shields until they both exploded one after the other and smashed into the desert below. Before pulling them out of the turn an enemy flak burst exploded directly in front of her fighter and she felt the F-Wing buck badly as another one exploded below the fighter's belly.

"Bravo Flight scatter!" she called out immediately as she checked her instruments and saw a flashing red light for her starboard repulsorlifts.

"Silver Eight, you're trailing smoke," her wingman called out, "Underside of your right wing," the voice of her long-time friend advised.

"I can tell, my steering's kinda sluggish," she said as she tried pulling away from the fight.

"Silver Eight, pull out, no need to take chances," the voice of the squadron leader advised.

"Roger that," she said sourly, not liking the fact she'd just gotten taken out of the action, which was starting to simmer down as fewer and fewer enemy fighters remained, "Heading home."

Teela pulled her stubborn and damaged starfighter upwards to begin the trip back towards the mountains, just the way that they'd come. Still sour about having been ordered to withdraw from the fight Teela had her attention split by the flight through the mountainous valleys and listening to the comms to make sure she knew what was happening. The sensors and sky were clear as she got to the entrance to the mountains from the forests. Nothing much was happening except for her noticing that the F-Wings all of a sudden turned to static as she was flying around a bend and saw the settlement below that she'd initially thought to be strange.

"What the…Silver Eight to Silver One come in," she said aloud, clear as could be as she tapped a few controls. But her droid answered her instead with a few beeps, "What do you mean we're being jammed? Jammed by who?"

Then a single purple rocket motor caught her attention, but it was far too late because when she looked at it the warhead of the seeker missile exploded under her F-Wing's belly, shattering the engine housing and igniting her fuel cells. Teela was thrown almost from her seat, smacking her helmet on the side of the canopy and cracking both with such force that she blacked out. The fighter's pilot safety protocols sensed that she'd been rendered unconscious, and her astromech made the call to eject its pilot, seeing as the starfighter was now losing power and slowly nosing over towards the forest as it passed over the settlement below.

Teela was unconscious when the rocket-assisted motor was activated and the explosive bolts under the cockpit housing detonated and the canopy was blown away and she was lifted away. Her poor astromech went down with the fighter, her friend since becoming a pilot for the RVC died with her T-42 F-Wing in a fireball as it was shredded by the thick trees of the forest. Hanging beneath a canopy the chill of the cold night air finally awakened the young captain, and she stirred as she felt the strange sensation of not being in her cockpit. When she opened her eyes she saw and felt no ground under her feet and the pinching of her parachute harness digging into her thighs as the white circular parachute was guided by the wind, blowing her towards the forest floor below. Grasping the strings of the chute she looked around for any sign of her fighter, and saw it in the form of a dull glowing fire off in the near distance.

Lifting her comm link that was connected to her astromech she desperately hoped beyond hope that her companion had made it.

"C12! C12 do you read?" she gasped out aloud, feeling nauseous at the sudden exertion, but pressed on, "C12 come in!"

After that, she knew the droid was gone for good. So she began to search the ground for how she was going to land and saw that it was not going to be good, a curtain of trees was beneath her, and she could now see it through the cracked visor of her helmet on the right side. The young pilot was infuriated as she drifted downwards, cursing herself for not reacting fast enough to what she should have recognized as a clear jamming attempt and taken evasive action. But her cursing was cut short by her feet plunging into the thick broadleaf canopy, smashing through it as branches whipped at her face and uniform tore as more stubborn branches gouged the red cloth. By the time she stopped she was still fifteen feet off of the ground, her parachute completely hung up and her right arm tangled in the cords above her head.

"Dammit, fekking trees, fekking branches, fekking useless piece of shit!" she snapped as she ripped off her helmet and cap and tossed both to the ground, undoing her blonde hair from its bun to fall into her face.

It didn't take too long for her untangle her arm, and she undid the harness out of frustration and instinct to get down and clung on to the harness itself as she looked for somewhere to swing to. Seeing a stand of vines nearby the young pilot easily swung over to them and then let go of the harness and slid down to the wet mossy ground below. The experience of training told her to move immediately, seeing as whoever had shot her down was now more than likely searching for her landing site Teela willed her legs forward, and stumbled off downhill, in the general direction that she knew friendly Wookiee villages to be located. She had trouble with this however, and had to stop and fight down the head trauma-linked nausea that repeatedly threatened to stop her cold. Reaching her glove up to her head she could feel slick warm blood on her temple, and sizeable lump on her head.

Training told her to get it wrapped in a bandage and she shuffled through her survival gear strapped to her legs and dug out a small roll of gauze and an adhesive bandage. Sticking it on and wrapping the green gauze around it the bacta lined patch began to cool her wound and numb it up as she sat back to let work its magic as she finished tying off the bandage around her head as she checked the rest of her gear. The holomap she carried was still there, as was her SSK-7 Blaster Pistol, knife, multi-tool, first aid kit, a water canteen, and two days' worth of compact ration bars. But her rescue beacon was missing, the pocket it had been in torn open and its key lone occupant missing. However her comm was still present, and she could use it, if it wasn't showing that she had no signal, the product of the jamming again. Groaning at her predicament Teela set her mind straight as to what she needed to have happen.

In the midst of her basic planning the warbling sound of repulsorlift engines caught her attention, and she ducked down between the roots of the tree she was leaning against and drew her blaster. The young pilot peered into the darkness but couldn't see much except for a few scattered lights moving towards her and the shapes of skiffs hovering through the bush. As they grew closer she could see the forms of beings on them, and they weren't Wookiees. Unwilling to move she watched searchlights scan back and forth as the skiffs moved closer and closer. She recognized the three of them immediately as Bantha-II's, the most common skiff for low lives in the galaxy. In behind them was a bigger vehicle, a modified WLO-5 Speeder Tank with more bandits on it. She needed help and needed it now, and desperately tried her comm.

"Silver Eight to any station come in," she hissed as loud as she dared, "This is Silver Eight are you guys kriffing out there?!"

"The signal's coming from over there!" a gruff voice now called out as she looked back and saw one of the skiffs moving its searchlight right towards her position.

"Oh shit!" she whispered as she looked at her comm, knowing she'd made a mistake, but had to keep trying, "Silver Eight to any Republic forces please come in, come on you guys come in!"

"There!" the light found her, the red flight suit she wore standing out in the white light and she knew she was in trouble.

Tucking away the commlink she stood and took off running into the bush, ferns kicking at her knees and fallen logs providing excellent obstacles that she tried leaping over to slow her pursuers if she could. But they were easily able to hover over the bush and when they were within mere meters of her a whipcord was fired towards her wrapped around her legs, sending her tumbling to the ground. The cord was stuck tight from her knees to her ankles, and in a growing panic she tried grabbing her knife to continue to run. Fighting never crossed her mind, seeing as it was certain death to do so.

"No ya don't!" a deep voice interrupted her as she tried to cut herself free, and she saw a massive Weequay jump down on top of her spot and made a grab for her.

Teela swiped at him with her knife but missed as the pirate backed away and then others, jumped to the ground as she scooted away as best she could. They all held blasters and she knew that she was in far more trouble than originally anticipated. When she tried to swipe at another pirate making a grab for her the original pirate dove on top of her, forcing Teela onto her belly as the pirates laughed at her attempt at resistance. Her arms were grabbed and painfully wrenched behind her back to be clasped by thin cuffs with her wrists crossed over one another.

"Let me go! You have no idea who you're messing with!" Teela snapped at them as she was dragged over to the parked WLO-5 tank, "The Guard will crush you and yo-rrph!" she yelled until a thick scarf was pulled between her teeth to shut her up.

"Easy on the profit-I mean pilot, after all," a much different voice said from the tank as a figure clad in a long coat jumped down to stand before her, "Profit, is what we're in business for."

The pirate Captain, well-known as Hondo Ohnaka, tipped her chin up towards him so he could see her face. She looked him dead in the eye, growling through her gag at ripped her face out of his grip. Being held hostage was not the most pleasant thing for an ace pilot of the Republican Guard to endure, and she would make sure her captors knew it. However, she had one last setback to go through.

"Captain, they're coming back!"

"Shut off the lights, all power off," Hondo ordered, "Sorry my dear, mustn't spoil the surprise too soon," he said as he signaled one of his men.

Her hair was pulled back and she cried out in pain as a damp rag was placed against her nose and she took several whiffs of the stuff before realizing what it was. Her vision started to blur, and she could only focus on the night sky above. Right before falling completely into the dark she saw the shapes of her own squadron's F-Wings and several Y-Wings fly overhead, their red engines glowing dimmer and dimmer until she fell unconscious. The last thing she saw were her comrades, flying within a few hundred meters of her, not knowing just how close she was to them.

 **Well, wouldn't that just suck? To be so close, yet so far away…but it happened, and I now have an excuse to use Hondo, yes our favorite space pirate is going to make a quick entrance in this story. I just couldn't help myself. Let's see how we can use this shall we?**

 **And speaking of use, I have created a Google Community for my stories where I have and will post teasers, ideas, and images that I use for my stories. It is called: "BIG Z1776 Fanfic Stories". If you want to go check it out, please be my guest. I'd love to chat there with you guys and share ideas I have for stuff and just chill out.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Negotiating a deal with Hondo, taking back Commenor, and meeting the oldest enemies of the Knights of Anaxes.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Location: Chasin City, Planet Commenor

The company was advancing and destroying droids, lots of them. A gathering of droid parts on each floor that Captain Challis's men tossed the kills they'd achieved had been getting smaller however. It seemed that the thirty floors they'd taken in the first day had broken the droids' backs and their advance was getting easier and easier. He'd settled into the command state of combat, directing his men as needed in the mammoth tower in his assignment of clearing it out.

Challis had never gotten used to seeing dead troopers carried past him to be deposited in a quiet open communal office space where, so far, twenty-nine of his troops were zipped up in body bags. He'd only seen it a couple times, preferring to visit his thirty-eight wounded, who were on the floor above. The wounded and dead never amounted to this in one spot, thankfully. The medivac dropships had come to pick up a handful at time, making sure that there was never a mass of dead bodies there to strike down morale. His company of one hundred and seventy one men and women had taken a bloody nose in this room-by-room fight. The majority of their casualties had come from the droid counterattacks they'd endured in the first couple hours and whenever a Droideka was holed up. But the enemy hadn't kept the Commenorian company from doing its job and taking over thirty of the floors it was assigned to take. Another pair of Commenor companies had been detached to attack the center of the building, and work their way up and down to aid their comrades. So Challis knew that he was going to be encountering another company of friendlies shortly. But the fight in Chasin City was far from over, he could see from any number of northern windows that the capital building and the surrounding area was still under heavy assault.

That, he knew for sure, would be his next destination. He personally hoped that he would be making the assault on the university, which was his old stomping grounds. Perhaps he'd come across a few former colleagues and see their faces when he rescued them. He hadn't been popular at the school, and his enlistment in the RVC turned Republican Guard had seen many of the more extreme students and faculty really turn on him. To liberate those kinds of people would be just desserts.

"Sir, first platoon's reported that they've made contact with Echo Company," First Sergeant Kelrein reported to him as he sat near a window, surveying the nearby buildings which were all Republic-occupied.

"Very well, finish sweeping the last floor, we'll be diverted to the main assault soon," Challis said without hesitation.

"Hoping for a reunion sir?" Kelrein asked after he relayed the order.

"Perhaps, I know the university grounds quite well, I see no reason we wouldn't be directed to aid in the assault."

"With all due respect sir, anyone can memorize a map."

"But it never gives you a feel for the place, never gives you firsthand knowledge that knowing it gives you. I know that school, and I know we're taking it next."

"Alpha-6, Alpha-1-6, all floors are clear," Challis's comm went off.

"Very well," Challis said in response, and turned to call the major, "Alpha-6 to Battalion, objective is secure. Standing by for orders."

"Command to Alpha-6, prepare for immediate redeployment, battalion's destination as follows," the operator on the other end stopped and then read the complex grid coordinates to him, "How copy those orders?"

"Roger that Command, Alpha-6 copies all, out," Challis turned to his NCO and nodded, "Told ya, University of Commenor. The whole battalion's being focused against it."

He popped out a holographic image of the circular overlapping mix of different styles of structure, a live feed showing that a lot of it had been caved in completely, the facades having been shattered and the buildings with hole blown through them. There were droid markings resembling at least a battalion's worth of hostiles stationed there with another pair of friendly companies already attacking it. The buildings were hard to harden for combat, but given that there were as many droids stationed there as he was seeing then he knew that they would have a rough go of it, and he very well might end up seeing the university get blasted to rubble. The thought of that hurt, but he knew all-too-well what was needed in war. If a few structures had to get blasted then they would have to get blasted.

As he contemplated these things his company was getting itself prepared for a redeployment. All his troops were gathering their gear and restocking their ammunition and filling up their canteens and ration bars. There was no telling when they would get another chance to do that. The process was quick, and a company's worth of F6 Dropships came hovering over their heads as a handful of medivac birds dropped in to pick up the wounded. The wounded, either on stretchers or being helped, were ushered into the waiting craft as the body bags were deposited on board the last bits of space available.

"All platoons, prepare for dustoff by order," Challis ordered as he signaled for the dropships to start coming in for a landing as the squads lined up.

It was a rapid process of a dropship landing and a squad charging out to get on board. They didn't have as many troops to carry as they did when they'd arrived, so there were five less dropships present to carry them to the new frontline. Challis made sure he was on the last one out, the tenth. Other dropships carrying the other companies of their battalion were also loading up and starting to hover in formation, ready to fly off towards their new objective. But there weren't enough to go around, and only thirty were dispatched for the move. The dropships aligned after that, and Challis received the new command and tactical plan for their next operation.

"All company commanders listen up, we're attacking the Separatist stronghold in the University of Commenor from the air in concert with an armored push into the grounds," the order started out, "We'll land on the eastern half of the campus, and start pushing the droids out as another force pushes north. All dropships will land on the roofs of the buildings, making it easier to sweep down and target the droids from above. Here's your area of responsibility, let's take care of business."

Challis saw that his dropships were on the middle section of the campus, on the largest building, the general academics one, with a commanding view of the rest of campus. It was an L-shaped construction with a circular dome at the middle joint which was the main entrance and was a building he'd taught in a bunch of times. The dome itself was glass, and the views he was seeing suggested that it was very much gone, just an open hole to fire into. That would make things a bit easier, he knew most rooms in there were quite large lecture halls so there would be less cover for the droids, not like the tower he'd just led his men in capturing.

"Alright. We're landing on the buildings, cover the entrances to the roof first, then put fire down onto any droid you see. Let's make them fear Commenor's soldiers."

The dropships slowed their advance as their gunners took aim at the enemy and fired their chin-mounted twin laser cannons along with a spare rocket or two that devastated the droid defenses. Red lasers from the infantry and a few cannons rose to meet the incoming assault dropships and the Guard troopers inside the bays felt their craft shudder and buck as their ships took small arms fire. Challis's dropships maneuvered around the campus outskirts, pouring fire down into the droids on the roof of their target building along with other targets of opportunity. The enemy defenses hadn't been quite up to the challenge of thirty dropships being massed against a single target this way and the company of troopers were soon ready to engage on the ground.

"Dropping your boys off Captain, give 'em hell!" the call from the pilot came out to Challis as the dropship he was in now angled rapidly for a short landing.

The hatch opened and once more Challis was the first to jump off the craft. The air was thick was dust and smoke as he looked around with his rifle tucked to shoulder and saw the numerous droids lying about thanks their own destructive firepower having easily rendered the roof uninhabited. The other dropships deposited his company quickly and they swept the roof, and many of his troopers rushed to the walls to begin firing down into the enemy droids rushing about in other buildings and on the ground. Challis himself rushed over a student-made garden built on the roof and ran to an entrance to the roof and was glad he did because a handful of B1's came charging out onto the roof to fill in the gaps.

He lifted his A280 and fired rapidly, blasting several of the droids as they rushed out of the door and his own men finished off the remainder as he primed a droid popper and tossed it into the stairwell through the door. The throw was right on and the pulse went off and he entered, firing down onto a B2 Super Battle Droid that was moving up the stairs, causing it to tumble back down the stairs and toppled a dozen B1's rushing up behind it. He methodically went down, pumping the stairwell full of blaster fire and tore up the writhing pile of B1's until it was nothing but a smoking pile.

"I want your platoons down each stairwell, now! We have momentum, keep it!" Challis ordered to his platoon leaders, moving down to an open door and pointed his blaster rifle through it to see a familiar hallway in the faculty offices section of the top floor, "I know this place," he said to the squad that was answering the call, "Follow me, stay tight, there's offices to each side with glass walls."

"Roger that skipper," the squad leader nodded and the squad began fanning out into the thin hall.

The echoes of blaster fire and explosions rocked the building as he saw the wreckage of the university that the droids had caused. Screens and lights sparked and crackled as holographic images struggled to stay alive in the cubby holes where the images were broadcast. The dark hall was empty, with no signs of civilians or civilian casualties. The faculty must have not been here to be attacked, but he knew that there were always some professors, groundskeepers, and students on campus at all times. Those would have been in the dorms, where the droids were still in control. But this was a different animal of a building. He knew that the moment he heard the rolling of a Droideka echoing down the hall.

"Offices! Take cover!" he ordered as the noises got closer.

The men got into the open offices and took cover behind desks and tables and chairs. Then the shadow of not one but three rolling Droidekas came around the corner and the men opened fire. An grenade blew apart the lead droid and blew it open to slide across the floor as the one behind it got perforated with blaster fire from a couple of DLT-18's as the third stopped and began to deploy. But it too succumbed as it was standing upright and halted its movements and its legs gave out and the droid keeled over onto its side. The squad rushed forward as more droids were heard clanking their way over the marble tiles towards them.

"Poppers," the squad leader said from the corner, as he had none left.

A man behind Challis took one out, triggered it, and tossed it to his sergeant, who caught it and tossed it around the corner where it went off and knocked out a group of a dozen battle droids that clattered to the ground. They stepped out into the open and checked the next hall the same way as the one they'd just gone through. Without much else happening they pushed through, Challis in the lead while keeping an eye on his tactical map, watching for casualties or hold-ups. So far things were going quite well.

"Sir," Kelrein yelled as he caught up, "Sorry for delay sir, but this place is a helluva maze."

"I know, got lost here when I did my grad work. How're the rest of the platoons moving?" Challis asked.

"So far so good sir, the droids' numbers aren't as large as we'd thought."

"Very well, just keep moving, keep clearing."

"That's all this is sir."

When Kelrein chuckled at that there was a clanging sound, like wooden pole falling to the ground. This caught the squad's attention and the group pinpointed the noise to a janitor's closet at the end of the hallway they were moving along. The group stalked up to the door, and then the door was opened and two troopers flashed their flashlights into the room and its occupants, holding their fire when they saw who was in there.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" a familiar voice caught Challis's attention and the captain walked up to the door as an old man in a fine suit was ushered out.

"Chancellor Vox," Challis greeted the man as his troops parted to give him way.

"I-I'm sorry," the leader of the University of Commenor squinted through his glasses as Challis walked up. Challis took off his helmet once he was close enough, and the man's eyes lit up in recognition, "Professor Challis?"

"It's Captain now," Challis corrected him, "Are there any other faculty or any students still on campus?"

"Uh yes, campus police ordered all staff to the police station when the invasion began and the students were told to shelter in their dorms."

"Very well, First Sergeant Kelrein."

"Sir."

"Advise battalion that there are civilians in the campus police station and in the dorms," Challis calmly ordered.

"Yes sir."

"As for you sir, you must stay in that closet I'm afraid, it's where you'll be safe."

"B-but…" the old man stuttered as a pair of privates pushed him back in gently and then Challis himself closed the door and looked at his entertained troopers and smirked.

"Been wanting to do that for some time."

Location: Naboo Senatorial Yacht, in Hyperspace

"Senator Amidala," Captain Typho interrupted Padme as she spoke with Bail Organa, "A message from the Chancellor."

"Patch him through please," Padme nodded as she looked for the holographic image to join the one of Bail Organa who was in his CR90 flying alongside her own yacht. His image came through, but as did the image of someone she recognized immediately, Grand Admiral Drexel of the Republican Guard.

"Senator Amidala, Senator Organa," Chancellor Palpatine greeted both senators politely, "I'm terribly sorry about interrupting this way, but it seems we have need of your services."

"One of my pilots has been shot and captured by a pirate band and is being held hostage. You are the closest Republic representatives to Vivyis-12. I need your help in securing her release," Drexel said calmly, but his seriousness in his voice as clear as day.

"You have been authorized to negotiate for this pilot's safe return," Chancellor Palpatine began, "We have arranged for the ransom to be ready for pick-up at your current destination. You will take that ransom and negotiate this pilot's release," the image of said pilot was put on the screen, a short-haired brunette Corellian, "Captain Teela Abya, the Republican Guard's highest scoring ace."

"Who is the pirate Chancellor?" Bail asked in curiosity.

To answer his question the holographic ransom demand was streamed to them directly, and it began playing. The pirate, Captain Hondo Ohnaka, came up as he stood with a kneeling Republic pilot with her flight suit's upper body portion unzipped and tied around her waist and hands bound behind her back and a black cloth tied over her mouth, effectively gagging the young pilot. Her eyes seemed groggy and unfocussed and had a bandage on her head bound by a strip of gauze with blood going down her temple. Hondo however seemed unconcerned and jovial.

"Good evening my Republic friends, it is I, Captain Hondo Ohnaka," he said quickly, and then turned to the pilot, "It seems that my men and I, on our humble business travels, have come across this poor Republic pilot, her starfighter shot down and her lost in the forest. We gladly rescued her from the loathsome Separatists, and now have her under our protection. However, do to the expenses of such protection, we shall need to arrange for some just compensation, both for the protection against the Separatists and her own…lack of cooperation, as you can see we have to take drastic measures to protect ourselves!" Hondo explained, but Padme knew from the stories from Anakin that Hondo, while a dangerous pilot, was never one to make outright enemies, "We merely ask for compensation in the form of two hundred pounds of spices. It is a meager amount for such an important individual as her, I'm sure we can come to a mutually beneficial business deal."

With that the message ended, and Hondo's image disappeared. And Drexel now took center stage.

"As you can see, he has our pilot, and intelligence believes that he will be playing us and the Separatists, who have been making noises of intent of taking her prisoner. She is the Republican Guard's top ace. It would be a harsh propaganda blow to us if she were to fall into enemy hands. So I have been told that a quick ransom will have to suffice in light of the rapid development of the situation."

"You two are our closest representatives, you must secure her release and return, before the Separatists take her prisoner," Palpatine explained.

"I will have a team of commandoes sent to provide a rapid action response force to prevent anything untoward occurring against you two, you are also recommended to bring your personal guards as well. As important senators your value is many times that of that pilot, to both sides."

"We will arrive to begin negotiations shortly Grand Admiral," Bail quickly said in assurance.

"Rest assured, your pilot shall be returned to you in no time," Padme also added, placing her own assurances in the ring.

"I hold a great deal of confidence in you Senator Amidala," Drexel nodded, and then turned as he was quietly spoken to by an officer, "Excuse me Chancellor, duty calls."

"Of course," Palpatine responded as the image was cut off, "Senators, I do believe I must leave you to your new task."

"Thank you Chancellor," both Senators said as they bowed their heads in response and they were left to themselves once more.

"Well then, it seems we are off to a dangerous negotiation than a trade settlement," Bail mumbled.

"Agreed, but I do not like going to a place so near to the frontline without a Jedi escort," Padme responded.

"We'll be fine Padme, the pirates under Ohnaka are not fools, at least not complete fools."

Location: Vivyis-12, Ohnaka Gang's Camp

Held hostage in the brig of a Corona-Class Armed Frigate Captain Teela Abya was probably the most uncomfortable she'd ever been in her whole life. Not even survival and evasion training on Carida at the end of her training had things ever been this bad. Sitting in the dark brig with her hands bound behind her back and ankles bound together she'd been blindfolded with a bag over head after her short time in front of the camera with Hondo and was now sitting against the wall of the makeshift hold, listening and waiting for any kind of opportunity to try and escape.

Although the last few times she'd tried her binds and "privileges" got worse. She'd lost the "privilege" to have her binds undone and to have her gag removed. But the attempt at least made her feel better, she'd bloodied one of the pirates' noses. To discourage such behavior it had been decided to keep her as unable to do anything as possible, short of being unconscious, mostly due to her value.

So here she sat, stewing in her anger and self-pity. The sitting stayed that way, in that cold cell, unable to really warm herself with only her tanktop and bra covering her torso and nothing on her arms. The sound of beeping on the door outside let her know that she was soon to have company and she braced herself for whatever may come. The hatch opened up and some new voices were heard.

"This is your prize Ohnaka?" a deep voice asked, "A girl…"

"Yes, a pilot for the Republican Guard, and not just any pilot," the easily recognized voice of Hondo piped up, and her blindfold was pulled off so her face could be seen and she herself could see, "The great starfighter ace Captain Teela Abya."

"Hmm…" the strange voice noted and she looked up to a massive bluish green-skinned Falleen, wearing the garb of the more public and dangerous uniform of the Black Sun, a captain by the look of him, "A worthy prize, take her," and two Black Sun soldiers leaned down and grabbed her arms and lifted her up, "You know that you owe the Black Sun a sizeable sum and this will do."

"And that debt shall soon be repaid, a ransom of valuable spices is on its way," Hondo stopped them quickly, "And it must be me who does this, after all, your public image would not need such a black mark. But me, Hondo? I care very little, but you, and your political allies, would not want…say…a dreadnought to appear over Mustafar. That would not be good for business."

Teela looked back and forth between the two pirates. The group was seemingly at odds and she was caught in the middle, a prize to pay a debt it would seem. She had heard of both the Ohnaka Gang and the Black Sun, she would much rather stay with Ohnaka Gang if given the choice.

"You have two days before we take what we are owed," the Black Sun captain growled at him, and then his men tossed Teela onto her side back onto the metal floor where she landed with a muffled grunt.

The Black Sun members walked out and Hondo sighed a bit as he crouched down next to her after she managed to sit back up. He softly pulled her gag down and she knew she had a few questions to ask.

"What the kriff are you thinking?" she snapped at him immediately, "Do you have any idea who you are messing with? Black Sun? The Republican Guard? You must have a death wish!"

"I remember now why we kept you gagged," Hondo mumbled.

"You're going to die! One way or another, this is a huge mistake!"

"Maybe, but it could be a profitable one," Hondo said with his usual attitude.

"Are you kidding? Do you honestly think that the Guard will just ransom me?"

"Of course they will, the Chancellor has already sent two Senators to do so," Hondo corrected her, much to her surprise, "Apparently you are worth quite a lot to them, seeing as the Separatists over the mountains also want your head."

"Separatists?"

"Oh yes yes…" Hondo mumbled, "Well what can I say? We came here to pirate some Wookiee trade ships, and we end up here."

"You shot me down," Teela growled at him, "And now you're going to trade me to the Separatists?!"

"Possibly, possibly going to trade you. There's a difference."

"You are completely out of your minds!" Teela desperately yelled.

"We are pirates! Of course we are."

A member of Hondo's crew popped his head in to speak with Hondo.

"Cap'n, a word?" the smaller pirate inquired.

"Excuse me my dear, duty calls," Hondo said and reached down to her gag.

"No, no, no-nnnph!" Teela stammered in protest as the gag was returned to place and she lashed out with her feet bound together, but missed.

She was left alone once more, but this time she had more to think about. However that wasn't necessarily a good thing, considering that the possible outcomes for her ranged from death to torture to public propaganda exploitation, not the best of things to have floating around in your head. So she tried to sit back and rest, there wasn't much else she could do.

Location: City of Munto, Planet Commenor

The city's droid occupation forces had been gradually ground down, with little signs of weakness showing from either side. Numerous Republican Guard vehicles had joined their Separatist opponents, smoldering in the streets thanks to hidden anti-tank teams of droids and ambushes in the tight confines of the old city. Among the Republic forces grinding down the droid defenders were the men and women of the 1st Guards Legion, one of the all-Anaxes units.

Leading his Knights Captain Kayle Titus had been slashing and blasting droid after droid, further enlarging his already impressive ego and reputation. As Champion of the Knights of Anaxes he was expected to lead any attack on any major objective and was doing just that. The city's main square was within sight, and as one would expect he was leading a contingent of Knights in the taking of this objective. Taking cover among the streets just outside the city square the numerous caped warriors readied themselves along with numerous regulars that they were supporting in the close-in urban war.

"Well, what's the word?" his brother Abel asked as he returned from their battalion command post.

"We attack, but there's a problem, we have local Commenor militia on our left flank," Titus said sourly, "The brass decided it would be better for the cameras if they took a major part in the operation."

"What kind of militia?"

"Mine," a deep voice answered him, and a light blue uniformed Commenor police chief walked in on the conversation, "Chief Ardadien, my department managed to equip ourselves for a fight before the invasion began. We're waiting for the signal to engage the enemy right flank."

He was a beard man with a bald head, carrying a similar helmet to what the Coruscant Underground Police wore with similar armor, but with a fur-lined collar at his neck with the padded riot gear and a heavy blaster pistol. He seemed rough and ready, especially for a police officer.

"How many have you?" Abel asked.

"Two hundred and fifty men."

"Mostly police with riot gear, their heaviest armor, but there's a gaggle of patriots who'd just wanted to fight to save their home," Titus sighed, "Brave but foolish."

"It's not foolish to fight for our homes," Ardadien countered.

"Indeed, well wait for our signal to engage the enemy. Then we'll see what your made of," Kayle said to the man.

"It'll be an honor to fight besides the Guard," the man nodded and saluted and then turned and left, back to his own militia.

"They're going to get themselves killed," Abel sighed, resigned to that inevitability.

"Prepare for assault!" the calls starting going out and troops got into position.

"Alright, the militia will attack the Separatist flank on my signal," Kayle informed his brother, slipping on his helmet and unholstering his repeating pistol, "The word is also around that a force of BX-Series Commando Droids are facing us, drinks on the tally?"

"Oh that's not fair, come on!" Abel said as Kayle rushed to the lead.

Kayle just laughed as he made it to the front of the assault as the call came down to him to make the frontal attack into the open square. Taking out his shield he prepared himself and checked to be sure what the square looked like, it was a simple open area with a street going around it and a circle of evergreen trees planted in stone-walled bits of dirt and a tall statue of the city's founder in the center. There were droids and several enemy and MTT's in the square, burning or smoking from airstrikes and live droids on the sides, ready to meet their attack.

"You may begin your assault Captain Titus," he heard the comm go off in his ear.

"Attack!" Titus yelled and rushed around the corner on foot with Knights in behind him, capes flapping and shields over their torsos with blaster pistols readied.

The enemy fire came immediately, with red bolts filling the air, cutting through the trees in front of him and slammed against his shield. He fired back with a long burst of fire at the source of the enemy fire and was glad to see the droids marching out into the open to meet their assault head-on. The Knights and regular troopers began fanning out into the open area, taking cover as needed behind their Knights and their tough shields. Titus himself attracted a friendly squad who recognized the unique cape with the symbol of Champion on it, they fired rapidly, mowing down the droids that charged them across the open field. But there were far more enemy droids than Titus had anticipated, with blocks of droids streaming in towards them.

Leading them into the open battle were sprinting BX-Series Commando Droids, dangerous opponents who each wielded a blaster rifle and a vibrosword. They Knights saw these new opponents, at least two hundred of them, and as did their friendly infantry who laid into the enemy elite. Many enemy droids dodged the fire with ease, but others fell to the concentrated fire as the Knights now drew their swords and formed into their formations. They closed ranks and then locked their shields, the first rank with shields facing the enemy and then the next rank layering in behind with a third behind them.

The droids attacked immediately with blasters but the Knights' shields held firm as they awaited them to come closer. They did so, and the skinny athletic commando droids drew their swords and sprinted at them.

"Shield wall!" Titus roared as he saw that the droids would doubtlessly jump the wall of shields and engage them to break their formations.

A second row and then a third row of shields from the Knights were put into place as and the shield wall was now eight feet tall with another three lines of Anaxes Knights aligned behind the wall, ready to clash with the enemy in case they summited the shields. Regular infantrymen stood with blasters pointed at the crest of the wall formed by their caped comrades and waited. The Commando Droids didn't disappoint, and leaped at the wall and slashed at the shields in a cacophony of metallic clanging and smashing. Many of the Commando Droids did in fact manage to get over the wall and the infantry in behind opened fire, sending several tumbling back or over the wall with blaster holes in their heads and chests. But most landed in behind the first layer of Knights and into the second.

"Engage!" Titus now commanded his Knights and they broke their shield wall and charged into the droids in a symphony of clashing blades.

Titus charged into the second rank of enemy elite droids, ducked under a swipe from a sword, cut the droid in half at the waist, pulled his shield up to block an attack from the right, and spun into that attack. He felt the forceful bash against his shield from the virbrating blade and cut the droid's head off with his backswing. He deflected a stab from a third attacking droid on his right jumping down at him and popped his shield against its head and sent it reeling. Before he could finish that one he was charged again from the left and swung his shield from above to send the droid's sword into the ground as it cut at him and brought his sword in a smooth follow-up blow that sent the droid's chest parts airborne he hit it with such force.

"Kayle!" he heard his brother call out, and he turned to see the droid he'd hit with his shield charging at him. But his brother dispatched it with a rapid cut into the hip of the droid, and then Kayle upper cut the droid's head, bisecting it evenly.

"You're still here?" Kayle teased at him.

"Someone's gotta watch your back," Abel laughed.

"Not now I'm rather busy!"

Both brothers now engaged a set of regular droids that now swarmed into the battle trying to engage from short range but were dispatched with complete ease the battle devolved into a complete bloody melee. But the droid's had one more ace in the hole. Kayle saw it before his brother did, an thirteen-foot tall monolith of a battle droid with a central red eye in a head like that of a B2 Super Battle Droid, but much, much bigger. Two enormous arms held wrist-mounted blasters and two smaller ones on its body swerved to fire into his comrades who attacked it. He knew this massive droid to be a problem when it smashed a Knight charging it with a harsh stomp of its boot, smashing the white armor of the Anaxes Knight that attacked it and killing him instantly.

"That's a new one," Abel said as he noticed the big silver droid wading through the battle, swiping a line of three Anaxes troopers firing into it with little effect and sending all three airborne.

"He's mine!" Kayle smiled and ran at it, slicing through two B2's that stepped into his path.

The droid, a prototype B3 Ultra Battle Droid, saw Titus charging it, and lifted an arm and fired at him as he sprinted towards it. The blaster bolts smashed into his shield, almost stopping him in place from their sheer force and the droid decided to finish him off. Stomping down at him Titus rolled to the side, and lifted his shield just in time as the smaller arm fired rapid-fire blasts at him. He then had to duck as the larger left arm of the massive war machine swiped at him and he swung at the smaller arms that were firing at him. The sword of Songsteel sliced clean through the arms, and Titus followed this up with a slice into the back of droid's right thigh, cutting through only part of its hardened durasteel frame. This served to enrage the droid, which upper cut him with some force and sent him flying through the air, bouncing off the snow-covered ground and into the raised treebed underneath a smoldering tree.

His helmet had come off and he shook away the stars in his vision as he looked up at the droid, stalking towards him. The behemoth smashed a B2 that stepped into its path the same way that B2 would smash a B1 as it closed on him. Getting to his knees and grabbing his sword Titus saw an opportunity when a B2 walked at him, firing a few blaster bolts at another unseen target. The Ultra came within range and Titus let out a warcry and sprinted up and leaped up at the Super Battle Droid before him and then pushed up off of that big droid and stabbed down at the Ultra's red eye. His sword cut clean through, sinking up to the hilt as the droid tried to recover but its systems died and it stumbled back and three poor B1's behind it came forward only to be crushed under its immense weight.

Rolling off of the droid and onto the ground Titus looked around and knew the time had come to give the Commenorians their shot.

"Ardadien, now!" he yelled.

He saw the police chief step into the open, a large square riot shield in hand and a large sparking riot stun baton in the other. The other police behind him had a mix of different blaster pistols and riot shields and stun batons themselves along with average citizens with captured droid weapons or civilian blasters.

"Go! Show Anaxes what we can do, go!" the chief urged his men forward before charging down the stairs into the square and raging battle, his men yelling and screaming down behind him.

They shouted and cursed at the mechanical invaders, firing wildly, swing their weapons at anything not made of flesh and bone. Commando Droids made short work of some that attacked them but the swarm of angry police and citizens bulldozed its way into the fray, carving through intact blocks of droids that hadn't seen them coming. Titus reached down and grabbed his helmet laying a couple feet away as other Knights rushed up next to him while he put it on.

"They've made a marvelous mess things," Abel said as he came up next to him.

"Brave amateurs, they do their part," Kayle smiled and nodded at the ferocity of the militia and police, as he charged back into the fray along with the other Knights.

He stabbed into a Super Battle Droid, ripping up through its metal body and lifted his shield to block a jumping Commando Droid swing at his head and when it landed in behind him he spun and stabbed it through its back. Without a wasted second he withdrew his weapon and spun completely around as he swung his shield's edge into the head of a sprinting B1, sending it literally into a backflip flying past him. In another sweeping slash a second Super Battle Droid found itself cut in half at the chest as it walked past him. With no more droids in range and the remaining enemy force hesitating in front of him, trying to reform, both the regular B1's and B2's and the more dangerous BX's stood and watched as Titus stood firm as the B2 he'd cut in half powered down and toppled backwards, while his cape settled from the blow he'd delivered.

Without hesitation Titus lowered his stance and brought his shield back into ready position as other Knights, Anaxes regulars, and Commenor police and militia also did the same alongside him. After a moment of hesitation the droids charged once more into the strong Republic line. This time however, none would remain.

Location: Confederate Patriot Forces Headquarters, Planet Edusa

The CPF, the Patriots as they were quickly becoming known, was growing faster than Der had anticipated. The reasons for the massive growth and influx of recruits from across the outer rim was as varied as the species she had under her command. The vast majority of them were human however, a trait that she was starting to see may have been done on purpose in both the army of the Republic and her own forces. But she didn't care, so long as she had an effective fighting force she was perfectly happy turning a blind eye to that.

Her fleet was growing, the shipyards of deep space had begun churning out specially modified Lucrehulk-Class Battleships by the dozen with many of her new Type-1 Class Star Destroyers, Type-2 Class Cruisers and Type-3 Class Escort Cruisers already lined up in docked formations, where their biological crews had already training. Her ground forces were constantly evolving force of droids and biological soldiers, moving more and more like an army with training maneuvers being conducted at literally all hours to ensure rapid turnover of her forces from recruits to soldiers.

Officers had been weeded out to take command of droid battalions all the way through regiments and divisions and up into the army group. Tactical droids conducted the training of her officers and the prediction of new flexibility among Patriot droid formations had come to fruition with unique maneuvers being conducted in war games against one another that even the super tactical droids were unprepared for. She knew that this way of fighting, man and machine intertwined in one seamless fighting force, was the way of the future, and she was more than ready for the chance to prove it.

However a couple things were missing. It had been made very obvious to her that the Republican Guard had its aces in the hole as far as their ground forces and space forces. In space they had their supercapital class ships, the Kuati giants, and on the ground they had the Caridan Commandos and the Anaxes Knights, both elite fighting forces that had made their presence felt throughout history and were living up to their reputation in this war. She needed a force like that to counter them.

For that one key addition to her fleet was being built, a personal design that she herself had come up with. To take on Kuat's capital ships she'd requested a new kind of flagship of equal size. The design that she hoped was under construction was a massive copy of the Lucrehulk-Class Battleship. At six thousand and three meters long and wide it was literally as simple as taking a Lucrehulk and scaling it up by a factor of two. It was easily a match a Kuati Mandator-Class Dreadnought, with hundreds of turbolasers, and over four thousand starfighters. The beast was affectionately known as the Ultrahulk-Class Command Ship, and it would be her personal flagship once her forces were unleashed.

But traditional space combat with ship against ship didn't seem to be how the Republican Guard played the game. They preferred a different and radical tactic. Starfighers had proven to be a key part of Republican Guard offensive operations and the Jedi seemed to be thinking along the same exact lines more and more as operational reports were starting to figure out. So Der had dug into the Separatist databanks for a suitable match that could be swiftly bought into production and found it in the form of a prototype variant of the venerable Scarab Droid Starfighter. Instead of a shield, as the stock models had, the variant she wanted was equipped with a hyperdrive and a proton torpedo tube with a magazine of three torpedoes. This fighter made for the perfect counter to the massed F-Wing and Y-Wing formations that the Republican Guard seemed to favor, and would avoid combat with the new and dangerous Imperator-Class Star Destroyers that tended to maul entire Separatist squadrons all by themselves.

And on the ground Der had found her answer to the Knights and the Commandos. Two elite fighting forces aligned with the Confederacy had pledged their services. The battle-proven Nimbus Commandos of Jabiim had already begun to take on the role of the CIS's elite special operations units with attached BX-Series Droid Commandos. These men were to fall under Der's command, and she knew that they would greatly enjoy spilling Caridan blood. However their bloodlust was nothing compared to her coming guests, a dangerous and sometimes volatile force of elite blade-wielding warriors from the Outer Rim.

She stood upon the landing pad of her main headquarters as a TZ-15 shuttle came in for a landing. The occupants of that shuttle were said to be the oldest and most bitter rivals of the Knights of Anaxes. And their very names still struck fear into the hearts of those in the Core, the Warriors of the Tion. Hailing from the planet Tion Proper these warriors were sword-wielding artists in the art of battle, and were just what Fleet Admiral Der needed. Her first glimpse of these warriors came in the form of a man she had come to familiarize herself with, their leader and greatest warrior, the Hero of Tion, Ronan the Wild.

Stepping from the shuttle he wore the combat armor of the Tion Warriors. On his chest three black trapezoidal shaped main armor plates that overlapped from his chest to waist that were bent in the middle with straps going around over smaller more flexible armor on his torso and going to his arms and legs. Armored shoulder pads with sharp ridges jutting out from the sides gave him a massive appearance, with other armored sections in the same kind of style on his arms and legs and shins. All the hardened armored portions were colored black and his softer portions were colored a bright blue. He wore a cape of black and blue with a broad sickle sword in a scabbard at his side.

He himself was the embodiment of ferocity, with long braided hair tied back and a thin wispy goatee on his face. The hair on his beard was braided as well and his long braids tied together by a black elastic band were decorated with a few beads of silver and gold. The man towered over her as he approached, his eyes examining her top to bottom in an almost unsettling manner.

"General Ronan I presume?" she asked as he stopped before her.

"I am," his deep voice responded, but didn't say anything else, which rather surprised her.

"I hear your warriors seek to aid us?" Der asked again.

"We seek honorable battle. The politics matter little."

"Very well," Der nodded and looked to her aid standing beside her, "When would you like to begin?"

"Now."

 **I kinda copied a few things from 300 there and I have no problem doing so. That movie and the Spartans' fighting style and the parallels I can draw were just too much to resist. So yeah, I've had my fun there and shall have even more fun with a character that I have obviously heavily based on a favorite actor of mine, Jason Momoa. He's just a complete badass, and really fits into the mold of a warrior cult like the Warriors of the Tion (Which are made up just like the Anaxes Knights).**

 **Other than that, yeah I had a ton of fun writing this chapter and will be looking forward to the feedback from you all. So as usual, hope you guys enjoyed.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Aggressive negotiations for Padme, and Grievous's entry into this story.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Location: Grievous's Flagship, Separatist Naval Rallying Point Near the Zeltros System

The battleship that General Grievous sat within was not one of his favorite ships, too slow and too unassuming. He preferred fast predatory designs, ones that struck fear into the hearts of all who saw them. But these ships were heavily armed and heavily shielded, so much so that it took the biggest and best the Republic had to face them. And with a forward deployed Republic dreadnought at Commenor his logical and prudent side won out. Being able to strike fear was nothing when the enemy did that better than you with a ship that could pacify entire sectors without firing a shot.

But he stood in command of a fleet of one thousand two hundred and eighty ships, the 34th Fleet. It was a large and formidable armada of twenty Lucrehulk Battleships, sixty Providence-Class Cruisers, four hundred Recusant-Class Light Destroyers, and eight hundred Munificent-Class Frigates. Grievous had pulled this fleet from the Confederacy's strategic reserve formations, meaning that he was in fact taking a risk with the CIS's ability to counter a major Republic offensive should it occur elsewhere. But now, he had the Republic on the backfoot, desperate to shore up their defenses in the Core, where the powerful politicians and loud constituencies were located. Make them fearful with a lightning quick raid to destroy war industry and war material and the massing armada of Republican Guard warships around Kuat would never be allowed to go beyond the Colonies.

Such was his principle objective, and if he could destroy a lot of Republic ships and kill some Jedi he was perfectly willing to go out of his way to satisfy his quest for trophies. Thus far though, he was less than satisfied with the Separatist offensive, his initial probe into the heart of the Republic had been met by a far stronger Republic presence than had been initially suggested by intelligence. But he now knew who his opponent was, Grand Admiral Drexel, an aggressive and gifted Republic officer. Defeating him would go a long way in securing victory in this war. His plan to deal with Drexel was to lure the Republican Guard out into the open, away from the Core, and strike a fatal blow. Grievous knew that Drexel's prime objectives had always been to annihilate Separatist fleet units, and he knew Drexel would realize a massive fleet was opposing him, and anticipated Drexel seeking him out. This was his grand trap, a trap the droid general was hoping would land him a Kuati Dreadnought and a Republic Grand Admiral.

"Sir, receiving a transmission from Raxus," his droid communications officer called out as he patiently waited for news of Republic fleet movements.

"Who is it?" Grievous growled.

"Nute Gunray, he says it is urgent," the blue marked droid responded.

Grievous growled as he tapped the button irritably, and the slimy Neimodian businessman's image came up in the form of a holo in front of his seat. He didn't move from his seated position, cape draped over the large chair and long mechanical fingers clasped loosely together.

"What do you want Gunray?" Grievous demanded immediately, "I am busy."

"General, I have just learned that a prized target has just entered dangerous territory," Gunray said with a smile, "Senator Amidala, she is on her way to Vivyis-12 to negotiate a Republican Guard pilot's release from pirates."

"What does this Senator matter to me Viceroy?" Grievous snarled.

"She is a very important leader within the Senate, wanted by many in the Confederacy for a great deal of money…"

"I don't care for petty coinage. I am the leader of the greatest force the galaxy has ever seen! War is my reward," Grievous declared.

"You misunderstand, she hold special connections with the Jedi Council, Generals Kenobi and Skywalker in particular. They have shown to be the Jedi of choice for rescuing her."

"Last I checked Kenobi and Skywalker are across the galaxy, taking Ryloth from your incompetent friend Watt Tambor," Grievous smirked, making Gunray wince at the loss of Ryloth, it was no secret that he had a large monetary investment towards its continued occupation and enslavement.

"They will come, and the greatest of all prizes will be yours, and my prize shall be mine, what say you General?"

"Amidala has proven uniquely capable of eluding capture Viceroy, have any suggestions?"

"Yes," Gunray said proudly, and another hologram appeared alongside him, this one a powerfully built Falleen in bluish and golden armor with the Black Sun emblem on his chest plate, "I have someone uniquely familiar with this particular situation."

"General Grievous, I am Captain Tanko, of the Black Sun. I believe you and I have two common enemies here, the Guard, and Hondo Ohnaka," the pirate said smoothly and respectfully.

"You are…familiar with this pirate? Ohnaka?"

"Yes, he owes the Black Sun a considerable debt. His time to pay has passed, and I believe you would be in the market for his prized captive, the Republican Guard Ace, Teela Abya?"

"The Confederacy is willing to offer a fair price for her capture, as well as that of her savior, Senator Amidala," Gunray said hopefully.

"The Black Sun is very familiar with such tasks, for the right price."

"You bring us Amidala, I will deal with the Jedi," Grievous declared firmly.

"Beware General," the pirate said quickly, "A powerful armada stands ready to face you to protect their Senator. I am all-too familiar with the ferocity of Kuat and Carida, they will not hesitate to fight you."

Grievous simply laughed. Despite the reputation gained by the Republican Guard he held them in contempt, as he did everyone besides himself and his own kind. The soldiers of the Republic, both Clone and volunteer alike, were just cannon fodder in the grand scheme of things, and so he had no doubts as to his ability to sweep them aside. After all, the Clones were supposed to be the finest soldiers ever made, if he routinely dealt with them, then the Republican Guard would be another of his clinical grand victories.

"Then a fight, they shall have…"

Location: Ohnaka Gang's Camp, Planet Vivyis-12

The two Senatorial ships landed in the large grassy clearing below the camp where three of the Ohnaka Gang's ships were landed, their massive disc-shaped hulls casting shadows over the forest. Their crews were sitting around or watching the two ships, a chrome Nubian H-Type Yacht and a blue and white CR90 Corellian Corvette, land gracefully with weapons held casually. The pirates watched a bit more carefully when they saw that a dozen uniformed bodyguards of both the Naboo and Alderaanian Senators were the first to leave their ships, with the larger CR90 providing direct cover to the smaller unarmed Naboo ship.

"We seem to be expected," Padme said as she stepped out, wearing a casual outdoors outfit, a jumpsuit and a maroon vest with a small blaster pistol tucked away.

"Indeed," Bail Organa agreed, waiting for her as the Alderaan and Naboo guards formed a line in front of them, heavy blaster pistols held tightly, "Shall we?"

"Yes, there's a lot at stake and I don't like being in enemy territory for too long," Padme said as she and Bail stood side-by-side as they saw a group of pirates led by Captain Ohnaka walking towards them, but without the pilot they were here to ransom for.

"It seems they're holding their hostage out of sight," Bail said calmly, observing everything, "They feel we may have the intention of seizing the pilot. Notice the number of pirates?"

"They match our guards, man for man," Padme nodded, "We're the ones in a position of strength to them."

"Welcome my friends, honored Senators," Hondo greeted them, "Welcome to our humble camp."

"Thank you Captain," Padme said evenly, bowing slightly, "I am Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo."

"The great warrior queen! Oh what high company we are in!" Hondo exclaimed, "The way you freed your people, oh, amazing, inspirational really…"

"I am Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan," Bail said after Hondo finished.

"Good for you," Hondo waved off, clearly more interested in Padme, "Now, I am assuming you know me so let us move on to business."

Location: Near Ohnaka Gang's Camp, Planet Vivyis-12

"I hate pirates," Major Myec growled as he scanned the field through his binoculars, marking out the pirates he saw along with their names and potential bounties.

"They make good target practice though," one of his men chirped up from next to him.

"This is true."

Commando Team Dagger had a section of thirty-six Commandoes pulled from the fighting on Commenor and dispatched to Vivyis-12 as the quick reaction force for the Senatorial envoys. The platoon of elite operators was in a fuzzy camouflage patterned cloak on their armor making them blend in as well as possible in the thick foliage. They had their blaster rifles pointed out into the field, each trained on a pirate.

Vivyis-12 was actually a planet the Caridans had paid visits to in the past. Its remoteness and Wookiee craftsmen and traders made it prime hunting ground for pirates of all kinds. While the local Wookiees usually dealt with pirates rather severely, more organized and powerful pirate bands such as the Black Sun warranted Caridan intervention. So these woods were familiar for each of Myec's men, who'd hunted Black Sun in this forest for a decade.

"Audio is up," his technical sergeant called out and Myec tapped into the audio transceiver they'd brought along to eavesdrop on the conversation below.

It came in scratchy at first until the feed cleared up, "We have brought along the spices as requested," Amidala was heard saying as the Commandoes listened very carefully for any tells as to if there was a brewing problem or escalation, "But we must see the pilot before we can show you the spice."

"Of course, a wise precaution, but go ahead and bring it out anyway," Hondo ordered her.

"When Captain Abya is brought out," Organa said, his tone betraying an aggression that caught the Caridans off-guard.

"Some balls on the Alderaanian," Myec's platoon leader called out with a laugh, the joke being that Alderaan was well-known for pacifism.

"Yeah, but he's gotta be careful, the pirate may see it as a challenge and double down," Myec advised.

"You are a tough dealer," Hondo said, pointing to Bail, "Hondo respects that. Very well, please, bring our guest."

"Thank you Captain, this won't take long," Padme nodded graciously.

"I certainly hope so, the poor Corellian, she is dying to return to the valiant struggle against the Separatists. I do hope her misfortune does not affect her career in any negative way," Hondo said.

"Smooth talker, flattery and grace…odd for a pirate," Myec observed.

"Ohnaka's not the average pirate, smarter, more basically driven but that simplifies things for him. A clear achievable object makes the planning and execution simpler by extent. Right?"

"Not necessarily," Myec said as he began to scan the ships and waited for the first signal of their missing pilot being brought out, and he got it, "Middle ship, ramp coming down."

"Got it," Myec heard his men say as a group.

Her red flight suit was easy to pick out amongst the dull colors of the pirates escorting her down and to a WLO-5 speeder tank. She was escorted by a half dozen pirates, all Weequay. The commandoes watched it zip on over, perhaps a show of strength by putting a tank at the forefront of the negotiating place to intimidate the two Senators. Or perhaps it was simple convenience. Captain Abya was placed on the ground gently, her hands tied behind her back and a burlap sack over her head. They all confirmed that it was in fact her when the bag was removed to reveal her face and short cut brunette hair and a thick black scarf tied between her teeth.

"Pretty little thing," one of his younger men observed aloud.

"Corellians, something in the water there," an NCO responded with a chuckle.

"Captain Abya, it's alright, I'm Senator Amidala and this is Senator Organa, we're here to return you to the Republic," Padme immediately reassured Teela who nodded wordlessly as Myec observed the guards around the two Senators tightening their grips on their blasters.

"Easy you guys," Myec whispered over a separate channel that connected him with the Senatorial guards, "Let the Senators finish their job. We're not in the clear yet."

He saw a couple of the Naboo and Alderaanian guards forcefully relax their grip but not their stances. The white helmeted and blue and grey uniformed Alderaan guards were easier to read than the more bulky leather armored and red uniformed Naboo ones. But they were doing their jobs, keeping their mouths shut and blasters ready on the quick draw.

"Is this truly necessary Captain?" Bail demanded, clearly not pleased with the condition that Teela was in.

"She bites," Hondo shrugged.

The Caridans stifled their chuckles at the pirate's extremely simple but quite adequate explanation.

Amidala now nodded to her security captain, a sizeable individual named Typho, who ordered the cargo of spices brought out of the CR90 guarded by a trio of A280-toting Alderaan guards. The pirates all had their eyes glued to the extraordinarily valuable crates, but the guards did something that Myec had advised them to do beforehand. Six of them, three Naboo and three Alderaanians, stepped between the crates of spices and pirates with heavy blaster pistols drawn. It was a classic Caridan way of reminding the opposing side they had to uphold their portion of the bargain or fight. Normally the Caridan Commandoes themselves would have done this by using their physical size, armor, and lethal reputation. The guards would have to do the same thing but with pure facial and body expressions.

Fortunately for all involved the guards managed to pull it off thanks to their training in maintaining and controlling their expressions and posture. The pirates were forcibly returned to the matter at hand.

"So, we are given our compensation and your pilot is returned a hero, yes?" Hondo surmised.

"In simple terms, yes," Padme nodded.

"Ah, very good," Hondo said and waved them forward.

The Caridans watched the exchange take place but their instincts were telling them something was up, but couldn't pin it. They then al heard the rumbling of ships in the air and they began looking around to find the source and then their sensor-feed from the Senatorial ships went dark.

"We're being jammed," one of Myec's tech NCO's snapped quickly after a reacquiring attempt was blocked.

"Visual on ships, five Black Sun Gozanti's, two Black Sun Interceptor Frigates," someone else called out, "Looks like someone didn't RSVP."

"All units, stay low, guards, get them out of there!" Myec quickly snapped on the channel.

It was a bit too late for that, as the yellow turbolaser fire from the two Interceptor-IV Frigates tore into the unshielded Nubian Yacht, blowing apart the hull and then more fire blew apart the engine block on the CR90 Corvette. The body guards were sent scattering as the Weequay pirates were stunned at the sudden attack. But they too found themselves in the crosshairs as laser fire shredded into both sides' ranks. Neither of them had any cover, and the WLO-5 tank exploded from the accurate fire, sending all members of the pirate band down to the ground in several directions.

The Weequay Firespray Frigates immediately began to engage, taking flight and firing their own weapons into the other pirate ships that took them on. Pirates on the ground immediately opened fire, sending red blaster fire skyward as the lightly armed Weequay ships took some shots. But Bantha-II Skiffs came zipping from the treeline towards them as Hondo took the situation as it was and knew it was probably time to leave.

"Well it seems these negotiations have come to a close," he said as a couple of his men shoved the pilot forward and snatched the crates of spices, "Thank you for your time, and have a wonderful day."

They quickly loaded up as the Gozantis landed on the ground and disgorged over thirty Falleen Black Sun soldiers with many of them holding blue and yellow riot shields in front of them as their dual-barel weapons were unleashed upon the overwhelmed defenders. The Naboo and Alderaan guards fired at them as Padme and Bail were pushed back behind their loyal guardians and drew their own holdout pistols and fired. Red, yellow, and green blaster bolts zipped through the sky as the battle erupted all around the negotiations. And so the Caridans snapped into action.

"Fire on those Black Sun fekkers!" Myec ordered, and the Caridans let loose.

Now blue bolts filled the air as the guards tried to fall back and Black Sun's soldiers were cut down by a third in the initial volley on their flanks. The battle was in full swing as several of the Naboo and Alderaanians fell to the fire they were taking as they took cover amongst the wreckage of their ships. The Black Sun was not done with them, but seemingly let the Ohnaka Gang pirates go, and turned their ships towards the Republic positions. A rocket volley from several Caridans smashed into the engine bank of one of the three Gozanti's that was landed on the ground, blowing it off and then a secondary explosion ripped through the rear of the ship which definitely gained them some unwanted attention.

Turbolaser fire ripped into the woods the Caridan platoon was firing from, scattering them as they took cover. A couple were badly wounded as the fire intensified into the woods when a couple more Gozanti's appeared and landed, deploying more Black Sun soldiers.

"What in the world caused this?" Myec's XO demanded as they fired as best they could.

"No idea, but it's clear that the Senators are the target, keep the pressure on, we need to buy time for the Senators to get to cover!"

An explosion rocked the ground as one of the Interceptors fired into the general vicinity that Myec was in. He looked up to see that the Senators were probably not going to be going anywhere without much more serious cover fire than what the Commandoes were capable of. But the return fire of the guards was certainly helping them, seeing as the Black Sun weren't advancing anymore and just trading fire against their opponents. The fight was a stalemate, but that phase didn't last for very long.

"We need help sir," his XO surmised after a bit longer, and then Myec remembered a source of help that they had used on this planet in the past, one that could always be counted on.

Location: Wreckage of the Senatorial Ships

"We can't stay here!" Bail's security captain implored upon the Senators.

"We can't go either or we'll be caught in the open, we're trapped," Captain Typho responded, shaking his head as explosions rattled the ground around them.

"The Black Sun is here for a hostage, not a kill order, there's no profit in it!" Bail yelled over the sounds of the fighting, "I will offer myself as that hostage to stop the attack."

"No!" Padme snapped, "These pirates cannot be trusted."

"Senator, we have very few options, our position is all but untenable," Captain Typho responded immediately.

"We can hold our own here, the Black Sun won't come any closer or risk killing them," the Alderaanian captain replied, understanding their situation, "We can harden ourselves here, hold out for the Republic to send reinforcements."

"The Guard is closest," Teela now interjected, holding the blaster pistol of a fallen Alderaanian guard, "They can have a task force here in minutes!"

"Our communications are being jammed," Typho said immediately, "And we have no long range transmitter anymore."

"They do!" Teela said as she pointed at the treeline where the majority of the pirate fire was being directed against the Caridans still fighting viciously, lobbing rockets into the large Black Sun frigates.

"Are you saying we need to tell them to disengage?! They are the only help we have!" Typho scoffed.

"They will understand the situation, but we have to tell them to do it or they won't stop fighting until they're all dead," Teela reminded them, "Maybe all they will need is a couple men carrying a transmitter out of range of the enemy jamming field. With luck they've already done so."

"Our check-in with the military passes in fifteen minutes, after that we can expect reinforcements. Tell me, can we hold Captain?" Padme inquired.

"Or die trying milady," Typho nodded and then returned to the fight.

"Captain Antilles, we must get word to the Commandoes, to make sure that they know to get a runner outside the jamming field," Bail ordered as well.

"Do you have a signal light?" Teela inquired as an explosion rocked the piece of engine they all took cover behind.

"You can signal with this Captain?" Bail asked the pilot.

"I can," Teela nodded and crouched beneath the engine and crawled under it and out of sight.

The young pilot crawled beneath the wreckage and then got to a point where she could see the trees where blue blaster fire was still pouring from. She took the signal light, a small cylinder device which was a different make than the one that was taken from her. It was capable of rapidly flashing any signal that was inputted into it and then a similar device was capable of reading that signal and writing it out for the other user to read, and so the visual conversation could occur.

It was as good a comms device as they had right now, and she made the most of it. Pointing it at a dense grouping of blaster fire she started flashing signals out to the Guard special forces unit. Her signal was simple: "COMM JAMMED, CALL HELP". She flashed that over and over again until she saw a pink light flash back in response: "ROGER". Sighing in relief that she got that signal out she sent another: "PINNED DOWN, BAD POSITION" and then waited for the response which came quickly. The pink light flashed a rapid but semi-detailed response: "FORTIFY, KEEP SENATORS DOWN, DO NOT MOVE, WILL DRAW FIRE". She then flashed a roger that signal and then heard a sound that she had to strain to recognize.

Looking up she picked out the shapes of droid assault craft entering the atmosphere. Around them were droid starfighters and droid bombers, which immediately tore into the Commando positions, and the blue laser fire stopped almost instantly. She was afraid that they were wiped out, such was the massive firepower directed against them, but a pink light signaled that the unit was still alive as droid HMP Gunships hovered down and deposited numerous battle droids. The message was quick, but disconcerting: "GETTING HELP, WILL BE BACK, STAY ALIVE".

As that happened a droid shuttle touched down and the hulking form of General Grievous stepped out along with a pair of Magnaguards flanking him. Teela lay there gaping at the tall droid general, the beast of many a Republic soldier's nightmares. She'd only seen images of him, but seeing him in the flesh was its own terrifying reward. He was said to decapitate Jedi, and mercilessly massacre Clones and militia for sport. What chance did they have?!

"Senators!" she called out as she retreated back into the covered area that the two Senators were fighting from, "It's Grievous, Grievous is here!"

"By the Force," Bail said as he laid eyes upon him.

"I have a real bad feeling about this," Padme breathed aloud as she watched the droid general stalking forward and then pull his hand up to signal a halt to the attack.

"It seems he wishes us to surrender," Captain Antilles noted once the firing stopped.

"Senators, you have no choice but to surrender immediately or perish!" the growling bellow of the infamous droid leader demanded of them.

Padme holstered her weapon, and stepped out into the open, but three of her guards stepped out, including Captain Typho.

"Milady, no!"

"You have done all you can Captain, I won't let the rest of you die in vain," she assured him.

"We swore an oath to protect you, I cannot let you go."

"Then I am ordering you to let me go Captain," Padme said sternly, channeling the regal authority that she still held within her from her days as queen and it did the trick. Typho unwillingly lowered his arm.

"At least let me go with you."

"She won't be alone Captain," Bail spoke up, stepping out as well, holding a hand up and nodding to his own men who stood immediately, trying to stop him.

The two Senators stepped out into the open grasses as began walking towards Grievous who, with his two Magnaguards and six B1's, was standing about in the middle of the space between the makeshift perimeter and the droid and Black Sun lines. The droid general seemed genuinely intrigued and surprised by their decision to come out and surrender. He examined them closely as they approached.

"General Grievous," Padme said, steadying her voice as best she could, looking around with her eyes at the numerous droids and gunships waiting for orders, "I am Senator Amidala of the Galactic Senate, I am here to negotiate the terms of surrender."

"I as well, Senator Organa of the Galactic Senate."

"Haha, negotiate? You have nothing I want, but I hold your lives in my hands!" Grievous cackled.

"We will surrender, on one condition," Bail snapped, rising against the droid general, catching Grievous off-guard, "You will leave this place and spare our bodyguards who have fought with honor and courage, taking their lives gains you nothing."

"Your concerns for your comrades is noble, if it were not so weak," Grievous growled at her.

"To fight for those who fight for you is the greatest strength in the galaxy, which is why the Republic's armies will beat you, General," Padme responded, drawing Grievous's narrowed gaze.

"You speak to me as if you expected something from this," Grievous observed, "Perhaps there is a reason Gunray fears you. This, I can respect. Surrender now and your guards may live."

"Do you give your word?" Padme demanded, not expecting much, but perhaps it may have been enough.

"Of course," Grievous said as if he were in fact serious.

The two Senators consented, seeing as this was their best and only chance of getting their people out of harm's way alive. Watching this all was Teela, sitting by in cover amongst the other guards, both Alderaanian and Naboo. The quiet groans of the handful of wounded and the noises of wreckage and pieces of metal being moved to make better cover was all they could hear as they watched helpless while the droids disarmed the two Senators and were slapped in cuffs. After being taken behind Grievous the two bodyguard captains stared him down, unhappy with this arrangement.

"He's not going to just let us live," Teela told Antilles and Typho, who both looked at her and knew she was right.

"Let's hope your Republican Guard hasn't left us to die," Typho sourly noted as he ordered the men to take cover with a hand motion, "We'll fall back into the corvette, we'll at least have better cover there."

"Agreed," Antilles said as Teela kept watching Grievous staring them down and as she predicted he turned and signaled the attack to resume.

And it did, with an incredible ferocity. Blaster fire filled the air in an unending torrent as she took cover while sonic rockets smashed into the rubble, and the remaining bodyguards just took cover and tied to hide out the maelstrom enveloping them. Teela crouched against the same engine part that she'd managed to crawl under before, and considered doing the same until she saw a young Alderaanian guard fall to a blaster bolt next to her and writhe on the ground wounded.

"I've got you!" she said quickly, dragging him into cover and saw the little hiding spot there under the collapsed engine, "Do you trust me?"

The young soldier nodded, his face still tightly contorted in pain. She pushed him to the hiding spot and began pushing him in, and he figured it out quickly and pushed his feet into the dirt and slid in underneath the wreckage and Teela now began looking around to find something else to try to help with. The CR90's landing strut on the port side got hit by a rocket and the ship keeled over onto its side providing them with some new solid cover to their side. But still, the situation was incredibly hopeless, as more and more of the guards dropped to what cover they could find and the droids advanced Teela began for the first time to feel that feeling of loss, as if no matter what she did, there was no surviving this fight.

Fighting with her claimed blaster she felled droid after droid that closed in, unrelenting in her desperation right alongside the others fighting for their lives. The signal was then given to fall back, and the groups of guards sprinted into the open hatch of the CR90 and scrambled inside. More than a few got hit on the retreating sprint, leaving the open space in between the destroyed ships littered with eight bodies and another five on the perimeter. Teela was among the last inside the ship, but didn't come out unscathed. As she entered the ship's open entry a blaster bolt struck her in the calf, grazing it badly. A pair of Naboo guards gripped her arms as she leaned against the white walls of the heavily damaged ship. The floor was angled quite a bit she noted as she was carried unsteadily through a maze of fallen wires, exposed metal supports, and red lighting or dead lights.

After telling them to take her no further the dirty guards all began reforming as she sat against the wall and they readied for a final stand. Wounded had already been brought inside, a dozen of them sitting further down the hall in various states. It was a real mess for a mere starfighter pilot to be in, but here she was.

"We're not going to make it out of here are we?" she asked wearily.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Typho sighed as he walked over once the hatch had been sealed by hand and their fortress was complete.

"All because of me," Teela sighed again, looking down at her boots.

"Don't beat yourself up, not everyone gets to choose how they meet their fates, we've all chosen to stand and meet ours," Typho assured her, "In the end, there's not much else we can do that truly matters."

"I guess so."

The group of remaining twenty or so men and women now began piling up any crates or tables or chairs they could get their hands on and began to create barricades to help in their inevitable defense. Teela herself tried helping, lifting chairs passed to her and passed them along to where a tall and thick wall was erected opposite of the hatch they'd sealed which was being cut into by a plasma cutter from the outside.

The group had made themselves a few walls that they'd quickly divided up into teams of three to fight for and withdraw to the next layer and then the next and so on. It was a rough plan, and depended on a lot, but they had hope that they would hold out until help arrived. Teela decided on her own to fight amongst the first layers of defense and positioned herself in a place she could see the sparks of the cutting tools working on breaking into their last stronghold. Outside they had begun to hear the thumping of explosions, thinking it was with the Ohnaka Gang, still out there somewhere. But then they heard something different, blaster fire near the ship. There weren't any guards left outside, the only one she knew of was perfectly hidden.

Then the hatch exploded and they all aimed their weapons at the door. But the group was surprised to see that no droids were streaming in, instead, there was a figure there that announced its presence that anyone would recognize. It was a massive seven foot tall Wookiee carrying a large bowcaster with a pair of ammo belts across his chest and a green emerald on a belt across his waist and a decorated pair of shoulder pads. There was a collective sigh and murmurs of 'thank you' as the guards lowered their guards. Another figure entered now as well, shorter, fully armored head to toe and carrying an A280 with a Viper Grenade Launcher. This guy was Major Myec of the Caridan Commandoes.

"Let's go! We're not out of this yet," the man said loudly, "But we've got rides."

"The Senators?" Captain Antilles instantly asked.

"Gone, Grievous took off and left you lot to his droids and the Black Sun," Myec confirmed, making the guards slump in dismay and some in disgrace.

"We're going with you, our mission's not done," Typho sternly stated.

"Get in line, I lost a third of my men trying to hold on for you guys, tonight, that droid dies."

Location: Dreadnought _Basilisk_

The bridge of the _Basilisk_ was alive with activity and rightfully so, something big had happened. Grievous had surfaced, and he was the one facing the Republican Guard. This was their ultimate test, the greatest commander the droid armies had was commanding a fleet of over a thousand ships. For this, the Republican Guard was throwing everything it had at the cyborg commander. The combined might of eighteen Task Forces, six hundred and thirty ships, was assembling with each passing hour. Eight of them had yet to complete their advanced combat training and two of the fully trained ones had yet to see combat.

"Admiral, we have Dagger," Grand Admiral Drexel heard called out from the communications station in the CIC. It was a call he was waiting for.

"This is Drexel, Major Myec give me a report," Drexel snapped quickly to his Caridan commander on the ground.

"Not good sir, Black Sun interrupted the meeting and droids landed and the Senators surrendered to try and save their guard detachments, but Grievous reneged on that deal and they lost half their number dead and wounded. Captain Abya is secure though, took bolt to the leg but she's fine. The Wookiees were already on guard thanks to the pirate presence and we were able to mobilize their militia to drive them off long enough to evac to the Wookiees' main colony," Myec dutifully reported.

"The droid fleet?" Drexel inquired.

"We got a recording of what looked like three full squadrons, three battleships, they jumped back into enemy space once their forces had been routed."

"We know where they are massing, it seems like a heavily baited trap," Drexel assured him, "But intelligence is saying that the enemy has rebuilt their base on Vivyis-12. I'll need to ask your men for one more mission."

"Anything Admiral, name it," Myec nodded.

"We need you to draw in Grievous, we're receiving reinforcements from the Jedi, two Knights, their best, Skywalker and Kenobi. They've been sent to help us fight Grievous, seeing as no one has fought him with more success than them," Drexel said revealing their ace in the hole.

"Roger that sir, we'll take care of those droids," Myec saluted.

"Your full team is on its way, you'll be making your assault once the Jedi arrive here tomorrow rest your troops, go over everything we're sending you, remember, we need to bait in Grievous, we do that, we've got him," Drexel made certain to impress upon Myec.

The message ended and Drexel stood tall and looked over at his sensors station.

"Enemy transmission sir, Vivyis-12," the officer there stated.

"Very well, looks like the bait is laid out, let's work on the trap," Drexel nodded to his two new comrades, the holographic images of Generals Skywalker and Kenobi, who had been listening in the whole time.

"Well Grand Admiral, it seems that we finally get to see your forces in action," Obi Wan observed.

"It'll be an honor Master Kenobi," Drexel nodded.

"If your forces perform as per expectations and Grievous does as expected then he won't see any of this coming," Anakin responded with a chuckle.

"Your insight into Grievous' habits certainly helped concoct this plan, just hope that Grievous acts as predicted."

"He usually does, the problem is in getting past his fleet, it is the largest I've seen him command," Obi Wan observed.

"We'll take care of the fleet, you and your men will have your corridor to the flagship," Drexel assured him.

"I hope so, for all our sake."

 **Wow, long-ass chapter. At least it felt like a really long one. A whole lot of exposition I feel on Bail and Padme in their situation there on the planet, and how far the two are willing to go in self-sacrifice to help their people. I feel like I captured that adequately enough, and yes I did bring in the Wookiees, not Hondo to break the siege and rescue the bodyguards. Hondo wouldn't do that for free.**

 **As for the battle to come, yes, there are over four hundred Republican Guard ships, but most of their on-paper numbers are corvettes with less than a hundred crewmen and women and their big dogs only count for a few tens of thousands of men. Of course there is an exception with their Imperator-Class Star Destroyers which in my story have only forty-thousand crewmen instead of close to sixty thousand in the Imperial Era. So yeah, big battle set to go down next chapter, I'm really excited to dive into the mind game of Grievous vs. Drexel. Can't wait to explore how to top tier commanders would fight each other with their large fleets.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: As I said, big, big space battle, and of course, is the parallel ground fighting, bring it!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Location: Wookiee Colony, Vivyis-12

The Wookiees here did not mess around when it came to establishing themselves. This was the first thing that the Republic Senators, their guards, and the Republican Guard commandoes and lone pilot noticed when they arrived. The colony was built along a wide river leading over a waterfall, giving them superb defensive positions out towards the way they had just come. The smoke of their destroyed ships and the burning forest was still visible on the horizon as the Wookiees took the group into their homes and began caring for the wounded. The massive trees were perfect for Wookiee settlements, as the numerous lodges built on the huge trunks and interconnected walkways indicated.

They were on both sides of the river, with long rigid bridges connecting the little villages on each tree to one another. It was fairly well-fortified as well, with Wookiee laser cannon and missile turrets dotted around the perimeter on top of a wooden and stone wall twenty feet high and twelve feet thick. The Senators were told that they would be evacuated by the soonest ship to land, which was going to be the Caridan reinforcements in their Kappa-Class Shuttles which would take their bodyguards with them and any wounded Caridans, another would take their dead.

So as they waited and prepared to leave, sitting quietly in a Wookiee tavern with fresh herbal teas provided by the old grandmother of the tavern. It had been a fairly rough day for them, a lot had happened. As they sat quietly, Major Myec walked in along with a pair of his Commandoes helping Captain Abya back from the local medical center where she'd had her leg bandaged up and had a bacta cast put on to improve healing.

"Fellas, hope you don't mind the company, but she's gotta head back to a hospital ship," Myec said with a chuckle, and looked at the ragged group, "Damn you boys look like hell."

There were a few isolated glares from the guards as Padme smiled at them.

"The Senators are Grievous' hostages," Captain Typho mumbled, "We tried to save them."

"You tried," Myec nodded, "But you failed."

Typho stood immediately, ready to fight on instinct, "We gave everything we had, good men died doing their duty!"

"But it wasn't enough was it? You were caught in the open, outgunned and outmanned with VIP's to protect."

"You insult the dead!" Captain Antilles snapped as well.

"No, I'm giving you a lesson Captain. The lesson is this, don't ever assume that you can always win. Believe in your ability to win, but never assume it. Sometimes the enemy will beat you if they are smart enough, big enough, and lucky enough. Today they were the latter of those two," Myec explained, "Your Senators did what they thought had to be done to protect you. It's not their fault Grievous has no honor. But when we get them back you will remind them of that fact. Never trust negotiations, trust the man beside you, trust your charges, and always trust your blaster. But never, trust words," Myec said and turned to leave, "Words are what started this war. I'm just left to pick up the pieces of your Senatorial charges."

"You speak of war as if it's a reasonable means to solve conflict," Typho chastised him, "But how many of soldiers on both sides die every day to win a war that cannot be ended by them? We protect people like Senator Amidala and Senator Organa because we believe in them, we believe they can help end this war and solve the problems that started it."

"The problems that started it were created by words, on Carida we have a saying, words cause problems, actions cause problems, words solve none of them. The belief that the Senate can fix the problems that started this war is delusion captain. But holding this blaster," Myec pointed out, holding up his A280, "This is no illusion, I've solved more problems with this and others like it than the Senate ever has. War is civilization's way of cleaning the slate. And we intend on wiping it clean, just like the soldiers of the Republic that fought the Sith and the Mandalorians."

"War tends to leave only the seeds for the next war," Antilles replied sourly.

"Not this time," Myec responded firmly.

"How? How would you do that?"

"Kill them captain. Kill every last one."

Myec walked out after that and left the bodyguards and Captain Abya alone again. As the lone Republican Guard officer there she knew she'd have to say something. Needless to say the Caridans saw things very differently than she and many others did. Such was the nature of a diverse military like theirs.

"He doesn't speak for the whole Guard," Teela quietly said.

"I would hope not," Typho mumbled.

"The Caridans see things differently than many others. Caridans see this as a war of rebellion in which all traitors must be killed. Anaxes isn't much different, but they don't see killing as the end goal. Kuat just sees this as a challenge to itself and destiny and all that jazz. Corellians…we're trying to just help end it so we can go back to the way things were."

"Can you say that for certain?" Typho grunted.

"Not really, but we're not Clones. We actually contemplate why we're fighting. At least most of the Guard does, guys like him…fighting is just what they feel they have to do. In a way they're worse than the Clones as far as that goes," Teela sighed, fiddling with the cast on her leg.

"We can understand," Typho nodded, "Security means you have to fight to protect someone or something. But them, soldiers, they seem to think they're fighting for something bigger."

"And it kinda depends on who you ask. Caridans say something different than Anaxes, Corellians say something different than Kuatis, and so on. Me, I volunteered to fight because I didn't think I had really much else to do. A lot of Corellians are just in it for adventure and glory."

"And now?" Antilles asked, noting that she said it as pest tense.

"Now I'm fighting for my friends and squadron-mates. And they're fighting for me. I hear that's why you guys love Amidala."

"I remember when the Trade Federation overran us on Naboo," Typho sighed, "We were outnumbered, outgunned, and without options. It was bad for a while, then the Queen returned and she led us back to retake our home. She fought her way into the very teeth of the enemy, and it was amazing. A near-teenage girl, leading men into battle, I've never seen anything like it. But it worked. We…rallied and fought and won our city back because we knew she was there, fighting right there with us. That's why she'll forever go down in history, and is why so many of us died for her today."

"That leadership is why we'll always follow our leader, even if he is a Core-born Kuati officer who has more in common with the aristocracy than me and others. But we follow him because he leads us. He doesn't sit in a command center, he's been there with us, taking us to victory time and time again. As long as we do what he says we all believe we'll turn out alright."

"Sounds like a helluva commander," Antilles nodded.

"You have no idea."

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk

"Exiting hyperspace now sir," the pilot of the CR20 Troop Carrier called out as Anakin and Obi Wan stood behind them in the bridge of the ship.

The ship dropped into realspace immediately after the word was given and the GAR troop transport dropped in amongst the large fleet preparing for battle in what was commonly-named "Dead Space" with no planets, no planetary bodies of any kind. It was a common type of massing point for the Republican Guard. These were points created by the Kuat Defense Fleet, and were known only to them and the Republican Guard for safety against betrayal. For security the locations were only kept on the navicomputers of the Mandator-Class, Praetor-Class, and Revenge-Class, which then had the locations given out to their fleet of escorts and then deleted all references in the banks of the escorts deleted once the location was left. It was a solid system, which meant that in order to get these locations an enemy would have to capture one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy and their crews of tens of thousands.

The troop carrier broadcasted its clearance codes, and was escorted into the formation by a flight of four F-Wings. Obi Wan and Anakin carefully examined the sheer power that seemed to have been amassed in preparation for the fight to come. It was very different from motley assortment of cruisers and corvettes that they'd witnessed over Kuat. This fleet was something else, it was not a collection of patriots, eager to prove themselves. This was the Republican Guard.

"Bring us in to dock lieutenant," Anakin ordered the pilot before sighing, "I certainly hope this will be enough master. There's a lot more ships out there facing us."

"I'm all too aware Anakin, we'll have to trust in the Grand Admiral's plan to engage Grievous and defeat him."

"His ships and plan, our expert knowledge," Anakin smirked, "We can't lose."

The ship continued until it docked within the belly hangar in the middle of the ship's massive hull and they waited at the entrance. The beep came and the hatch opened up, and standing at the end of the hallway was a young Lieutenant Commander, Wain Kuat, one of Drexel's personal aides. The young officer bowed instead of saluted, a Kuati trait signifying the Core's dismissal of the Jedi Order's promotions to Generals and Padawans to Commanders. To them the rank of officer was something earned, not given.

"Master Jedi, I'm Lieutenant Commander Kuat, the Grand Admiral is waiting for you, please."

"Right, shall we?" Obi Wan nodded, offering the same type of open handed gesture that Kuat did to them.

From behind them the young Ahsoka Tano joined her master, right alongside Obi Wan.

"The boys are all prepped Master," she said firmly.

"You'll find preparations underway in the hangar Padawan," Kuat said, "The Lieutenant here will see them there."

In behind the two Jedi came their Clone Commanders, Cody and Rex. The blue and orange decorated suits of armor signified that elements of both the 212th and 501st were present on board the troop carrier, there to aid in the rescue of the two Senators. The group of four followed Kuat out of the hall and into a busy thoroughfare of crew, officers, and marines. The Clones and Jedi were very much used to a single face or the face of a helmet. But here, were many different faces that looked at them in very different ways. There was dismissal, whoa, and anger from all over the crews and officers. It took them by surprise, as the Jedi were treated quite well by the Clones and their few biological officers and vice versa. But here the atmosphere was very different.

"Forgive me for noticing Commander, but…I sense we aren't all that welcome here," Obi Wan said as they entered a turbolift bank off of the main hall.

"You'd be correct Master Kenobi, there are many of us who think we're better suited to this mission," Kuat replied without much change in his even and level tone.

"I believe the term is General sir, Commander," Cody corrected the young boy.

"I don't think so Commander," Wain shrugged off.

"And why would that be?" Rex growled, not appreciating the perceived disrespect.

"I think there's a 'sir' missing from that sentence, Captain."

"I don't think you're hearing right Commander, you were asked a question," Ahsoka challenged the taller human male.

"Hold up your hand for me please," Wain instructed, and Ahsoka did so, and then held up his hand with his class ring on it, "Do you see the difference between them?"

Anakin and Obi Wan looked at one another thoughtfully, knowing the point that the Kuati was driving at. It was one that they'd heard many, many times before.

"You have a ring, so what?" Ahsoka shrugged.

"This ring signifies that I have completed four years of training and study in the art of war. We've earned the right to command. As far as military regulations see it, you and the other Jedi have not. War is not something that you simply step into, you prepare, you study, and you train. Your Clone Commanders know this, their discipline and fealty towards you prevents them from pointing this out to you."

"And yet, here we are, leading the Clone Army. She in particular has proven herself in command," Anakin countered, "We broke through the blockade at Ryloth because of her."

"After diving headlong at a battleship with one squadron of fighters and leaving your forces open to counterattack," Wain reminded him, "You were lucky that all your ships weren't destroyed."

"Our tactics are evolving, war is not something the Jedi wanted, and so were unprepared for. But we couldn't sit out this fight any more than you could. So despite our lack of similar training we have held our won and are winning out there," Obi Wan replied, "Training or no."

"The difference between us Master Kenobi, is that we win because of our training, you win because of theirs," he motioned to the Clones, "and despite yours. I mean no disrespect. You asked me why you don't feel welcome, and among the officers at least, that is, in layman's terms, the reason why."

"And the Clones?" Anakin asked.

"Our soldiers and crews don't even like each other outside of battle. So not liking Clones is simply systematic of ingrained unit and planetary pride," Wain smirked, "You'll find that to be far more prevalent in the Guard than in the Grand Army. You're luck you're not on an Anaxes ship, or one of their Knights would've challenged one of you two to a duel," Wain warned the Clones.

The turblolift arrived and the young aide signaled for them to go on ahead.

"The CIC is waiting for you," Wain nodded.

The group silently boarded and the lift closed. After a second of silence Rex asked Anakin a question.

"A duel sir?"

"I'm more than familiar with Anaxes, he's right," Obi Wan answered.

The turbolift then arrived and beeped pleasantly. They'd arrived and when the door opened they were greeted by the sight of four A280-armed red-uniformed crewmen, Guard Marines. Their gold-tinted goggles over their eyes and their long helmets were identical to their other comrades but with black stripes. They had DH-17 Heavy Blaster Pistols in holsters and collapsible batons on their shoulders. They guarded the entrance to the CIC and opened the door after two of them put in their keys and handprints from either side of the door.

In the middle of the CIC was a large circular depression in the floor with rows of seats and a handrail on the main floor with two sets of stairs going down to the large holotable below. There were more than twenty senior naval and army officers assembled there. Their old faces were hardened into those of focused and hard military men and women. They were mulling among themselves quietly until the turbolift opened and their saw the figures of the Jedi entering the room.

"Attention on deck!"

The CIC of the Basilisk full of senior officers snapped to attention, out of instinct for the command. Once the group saluted they returned to at ease without a word being said by the Jedi. Only junior officers were did this with enlisted men. From their numbers Grand Admiral Drexel walked out to greet them.

"General Kenobi, General Skywalker, welcome aboard the Basilisk," Drexel nodded as he extended a hand to the two in turn.

"Good to be aboard Grand Admiral," Obi Wan said, and held a hand out, "Shall we get to the business of giving the good General Grievous a proper defeat?"

"Yes we shall."

Location: General Grievous' Flagship, CIS Massing Point near Zeltros

"General, we have confirmation, Generals Kenobi and Skywalker have been ordered to the Commenor System. They should have rendezvoused with the Republican Guard by now," Dooku said to his cyborg commander through a holo transmission.

"Good, then their offensive shall begin soon," Grievous replied, clasping his hands together.

"I warn you General, we have underestimated these forces before, do not make the same mistakes," Dooku glowered at Grievous.

"My plan is already underway," Grievous offered confidently, "They have reinforced their forces on Vivyis-12 with a large number of special forces. It is obviously a ploy to draw in reinforcements that the Jedi will intend on ambushing and drawing us in. But it is I who is laying the trap. I will do as they expect, but I will overwhelm them, splintering their formations and destroying them from all directions. When their ships come to the rescue they will meet a similar fate when I slam the door shut behind their bait with my reserves. And each force shall be crushed in its pocket one by one by my capital ships, they shall see defeat crashing down upon them."

"They will anticipate such tactics," Dooku warned, "You must be mindful of your opponent. Remember Skywalker and Kenobi also face you."

"Their predictions are what I am counting on. I shall create a buffer around their forces that will be impossible to fight through. In the middle of this bubble shall be my battleships, annihilating them one by one as I ensnare each formation with my numbers. And the Jedi will be forced to push towards me, driven by their need to rescue their poor Senators, and I will be waiting."

"A well-designed plan," Dooku nodded, "I will look forward to your results, General."

"As do I," Grievous chuckled.

The message ended and Grievous stood up and moved to a holomap table where he was keeping tabs on his armies movements on Vivyis-12. They were approaching the enemy lines, and would be in contact soon. He didn't expect much. The droids were in dense wooded terrain against an entrenched Wookiee force that knew the land far better than even a surveyor droid could. And there were three hundred Republic special forces operators on that planet, ready to strike who-knew-where. But he wasn't concerned, he had need of their success to make his plan kick off just right to prevent arousing suspicion. Part of that also rested on his acting ability and the strength of enemy listening posts to sell the idea of him sending a token force to reinforce his droids on the ground and crush the Republic militia and special ops troops there.

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk

Once the briefing ended on the operational plan the Grand Admiral and the Jedi and Clones were left alone. The back and forth of advice and counter tactics took a while, but they'd come up with something to take on Grievous. They were outnumbered two to one, and heavily outgunned by enemy battleships and carrier/destroyers. The fight would be hard, and many lives would doubtlessly be lost. This was something that Ahsoka found a little hard to just accept, just sitting there listening to these people plan everything, knowing the losses that would be incurred.

"Your method of rescuing the Senators is bold Master Jedi," Drexel sighed as he sat down, memorizing the plan on the board, "Quite bold, quite risky. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

"It is the only way to get close and catch Grievous by surprise," Anakin replied.

"He won't see it coming, we are indeed confident in that," Obi Wan agreed.

"And we'll keep him occupied," Drexel nodded.

"Master if I may," Ahsoka piped up, her tone stressed.

Anakin and Obi Wan nodded.

"Go ahead child," Drexel offered for her to continue.

"You're risking your entire force to rescue the Senators, with only victory or complete disaster as the options. I don't understand how you can be so calm about it."

"Your fairly new to command are you not Padawan Tano?" Drexel inquired.

"Yes, I-I am," Ahsoka shrugged.

"There is one thing I always taught my students at the Anaxes War College from day one. To be a good leader you must love the people you lead. To be a good commander, you must be prepared to order the death of the thing you love. Without that, there is no risk. Without that, there is no victory," Drexel explained very clearly.

"And them? The average soldier, pilot, crewman? How do they go about fight this war? With us Clones I don't have to wonder because I know nothing else," Rex now asked, his own internal questions coming to light, "But them? They had a choice, and they're here. How do you do it?"

"You don't expect yourself or your family to truly understand why, you just hope that they accept it. And that whenever you come home, you can pick up, right where you left off. And when you're gone, you live by a code, everyone does, it's your shoreline, it's what makes men fight so dearly for one another, it's what guides you home," Drexel sighed and looked down at the floor, "And trust me, you're always trying to get home."

"And that's why your men fight so hard, so viciously," Anakin surmised, remembering the footage of the desperate hand-to-hand fighting that occurred in the RVC trenches on Harrin as droids poured in on top of the troopers holding their ground.

"Stand between a man and his life, he'll fight you with every fiber of his being. The weakness of the droid army is its lack of fear. It makes them easy to predict and fight. Fear, is what fuels men to extraordinary and unpredictable things that they themselves would never imagine. Sometimes the lengths are less than savory, but soldiers don't care so long as they survive."

"And you Grand Admiral? Why are you doing this? You could be retired, enjoying life comfortably I imagine," Obi Wan now asked.

"The man who tutored me as a young officer was that the worst thing that could happen to a man was to no longer be seen as dangerous. We in the Kuat Defense Force all held this true to our hearts and minds, because deterrence is the greatest asset we have. But…to be passed over by the Clone Army to me…it felt as though I was being told that I was no longer useful, my days done as a military man. I felt that I was no longer seen as dangerous. Me, I'm here to show that we still have that badge of honor of being dangerous."

"Why?" Anakin asked.

"Because if a man sees you as more dangerous than himself he won't fight you. If he sees it the opposite way, he will fight you, and no one truly wins in the kinds of fights that I have trained for. Only those that benefit from your side winning but never fought themselves are the real winners."

"We always lose something in ourselves," Rex nodded.

"Exactly, which is why defeat is no option for us. We win, or we lose everything."

 **Meh, short chapter, some character development, I'm happy with that. Hope you guys are too, and I will look forward to seeing you all soon as school approaches and I move into my apartment for the next year of trial by classes. As usual if you have suggestions, recommendations, or anything else to say let me know.**

 **As a side note I am preparing a pair of stories for writing one day, a Game of Thrones fanfic with the level of technology bumped up to the Age of Napoleon, muskets and cannons. I'm curious to see how I do with that. The other is a Star Wars fanfic with the date set into the future about a hundred years after Yavin and the fall of the Empire with a setting to be explained once I've fleshed it out a bit more.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The battle of elite leaders begins.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Location: Separatist Landing Site, Vivyis-12

The forest around the CIS forward landing zone was a hive of activity. Trade Federation business associates, imbedded within the Separatist fleet, had known for a long time that was a great deal of mineral and biological wealth potential on this moon. Numerous private interests had wanted this world cleared of its Wookiee inhabitants to set up private resort lodges and hunting mansions. So the Separatist droids that had landed were primarily of the engineer class, felling trees, clearing land, and tearing up the area to pave the way for a true commercial spaceport to be built.

In the forest watching them however were the many Wookiee colonists, armed to the teeth, and eager to tear apart the droids ransacking their home. Among them were Republican Guard special forces, Commando Team Dagger. The unit had painstakingly mapped the enemy positions and had brought along loaned out mortars to aid the Wookiees' defense. These mortars were zeroed in on target, ready to lob their droid popper warheads into the midst of the enemy workers and guards.

"These slimeballs don't know when to keep their grubby palms to themselves," Colonel Myec whispered to himself as he surveyed the more luxurious private Trade Federation-marked building. Several Neimodians made it clear that they were in fact here on business that was being aided by the Separatists.

"No sir they don't, do they pay with blood or credits today?" his company first sergeant asked, hoping for the former option.

"Today they pay with everything they've got. If they don't run…well that's their problem. All stations this net, Dagger-6, sitrep over," Myec called out.

"Dagger-6, Dagger-1, in position. Holding for advance on southeast treeline."

"Dagger-6, Dagger-2, in position. Holding overwatch."

"Dagger-6, Dagger-3, in position. Holding for advance on southwest treeline."

"Dagger-6, Dagger-4, in position. Support element standing by."

"All Daggers, Dagger-6 reads all, prepare for attack."

Myec checked the timer on his HUD and saw that they had a minute or so before their attack was scheduled to begin. The operation was still right on schedule. He just hoped that the rest of the Republican Guard would be so precise in their timing. No matter, he and his men had a job to do.

"Daggers, commence firing…now."

A ring of blue blaster fire erupted from the treeline along with the green blasters of the Wookiees alongside the commando unit. Explosions tore through the droid camp as droid after droid fell, and the engineering vehicles detonated as Myec's HEDP (High Explosive Dual Purpose) rockets struck their weak armor and they began belching fire and smoke. The scene quickly turned into another gruesome scene of Republican Guard efficiency as the Wookiees surged forward to take the fight to the Separatists and the Neimodians began trying to evacuate, but were cut off when Wookiee assault craft bombarded their shuttle pads and destroyed their obvious rides off the planet. Myec and his men knew that their job had been done as well as could be.

In fact they'd even held back, giving the Separatists time to call for help, and then after the call had been made and acknowledged did Myec order the hammer to come down. Their mortar pits lobbed a handful of shells into the compound and the buildings all took damage, the Wookiees moved into the buildings, and out of Myec's sight they finished off the Neimodian commanders. He felt very little pity for them, he'd acted against Trade Federation interests many times when they conflicted with Carida's and direct action was necessitated, but this was a breath of fresh air being able to do so in so public and direct a manner.

"Command, Dagger-6, hostile LZ is neutralized, pulling back to defensive line Alpha," Myec said into his long range comm, knowing the fleet was awaiting this acknowledgement of success.

"Wasn't much of a fight," his XO commented.

"Well the real fight is coming up," Myec informed his men, "Brace yourselves."

Location: Dreadnought _Basilisk_ , Hangar Deck

Ahsoka was preparing for her mission alongside her master and clones of the small 501st and 212th detachments that they'd brought along. They had been given a flight of four F6 Infantry Assault Craft by the RVC Marine detachment aboard the _Basilisk_ for their boarding action. These assault ships similar in design but were a bit wider than an LAAT/i, the craft she and the rest of the Clones had been used to going into action in. But these bulkier, more armored ships were actually a meant more for the kind of bullheaded assault that suited it, when compared to the more fragile but more nimble LAAT's. She was happy that they had been given these, especially when she saw the armor plates on it.

"Thank goodness we have these," Ahsoka said in appreciation as she looked one of them over.

"You're not going in with us Ahsoka," Anakin said to her from the side.

"What?! Why?" she immediately demanded.

"Grievous has a penchant for boarding enemy command craft to personally decapitate the Republic unit's command structure. He'll be coming for Admiral Drexel, we need one of us here on board to protect him and his command staff," Obi Wan explained.

"Doesn't the Admiral know that?" Ahsoka demanded.

"I made him aware of it yes, and he has transferred a company of Anaxes Knights in preparation, but still I need you to be here as insurance," Anakin explained.

"Yes master, and if Grievous doesn't come?" Ahsoka asked.

"Then we'll deal with him," Obi Wan smirked, "And you may see how the Republican Guard fights its battles."

"It's not as fun in a command center," Ahsoka grumbled unhappily.

"Kid…" Rex said quietly, "You're not gonna wanna see this battle up close. Whenever a Clone gets wounded have you noticed something?" he asked her.

"What?"

"We don't scream. We've been trained to mostly hold in the pain and the fear. But, these boys around here, they haven't. For a lot of them a couple months ago they were shopkeepers and farmers," Cody explained, "They don't have that mental training. Being on the ground in the fighting may be the most traumatic thing a young Padawan can experience."

"Which is why it's best for you to remain here," Anakin further impressed on her.

"I understand master," Ahsoka nodded, the somber reality of the coming battle fully dawning on her.

"He's expecting you on the bridge," Anakin nodded, ushering her to get to her station.

"Yes Master," Ahsoka nodded, knowing that the decision was now made and that it was the best course of action.

Ahsoka bowed respectfully before sourly leaving the hangar, moving past numerous crewmen and women. This was one fact that she wasn't used to, all the unique faces in uniform around her. The uniforms were new and the armor was different, but each face was its own. Behind each there was a story, a family, and a reason for them being here. But she ignored that as she passed several gathering points of Anaxes Knights.

She'd seen them a few times today. Their imposing forms were a surprise to her. Such antiquated fighting techniques like the sword and shield were not unwelcome to Padawan, it was just that they weren't force-sensitive and didn't have her reflexes and powers. Yet they fought this way all the same. She couldn't see past the black visors but knew that these knights were looking at her whenever she passed. But they never said a word, comfortable in their status of her looking up at them as she passed wordlessly. It was just another wide-eyed moment for her, but she was certain that once the fighting got underway the habits she was quickly forming would kick in and she'd perform as she always did. So she settled into the same role as she had before battle and rolled her shoulders back and stood tall as she got to the turbolift into the bridge.

"Padawan Tano," Lieutenant Commander Kuat greeted her while reading over what was on the station he was standing at, still refusing to say the rank the Clones knew her as.

"Commander," Ahsoka said as she passed him and walked into the command center. She found the Admiral there, his white uniform making it easy for her.

"Padawan Tano, I see you followed your orders," Admiral Drexel nodded to her, "I thought being Skywalker's apprentice would've inclined you to working your way around them."

"Yeah…well this time there wasn't any wiggle room," Ahsoka shrugged humbly.

"Sound orders are usually that way. Glad to have you, it actually provides quite a bit of reassurance having you here."

"Glad to be of help. So, how long?" Ahsoka asked.

"Our lead formations are on the countdown to jump now," Drexel pointed at the large central holotable, with three blinking formations of ships hightlighted with timers counting down the time until they jumped into hyperspace.

"Three Task Forces?" Ahsoka asked, seeing their unit symbols highlighted.

"Yes, Task Forces ten eleven and twelve. our more experienced ships I can't afford to lose, and the buffer that these units will get will give them time to deploy their assault ships to the surface and prevent them from losing a legion before it can deploy."

"A hundred and eighty thousand troops…that's a lot of people by themselves," Ahsoka said nervously.

"The other million will be right behind them," Kuat said from beside the Admiral, "Grievous won't resist the temptation to land troops and divert fighters to escort the dropships to the planet with a million Republic Troopers ready to face him."

"That'll give us the advantage," Drexel nodded.

"Still, we're facing over ten million battle droids and their vehicles and twenty Federation Battleships," Ahsoka was quick to remind him, "Are you sure the plan will work to take them out of the fight."

"I'm certain of it, if the schematics of the _Lucrehulk_ s is still up to date," Drexel responded quickly.

"They are, my master and I got them ourselves," Ahsoka affirmed very firmly.

"Then this should work, and the enemy should be almost unable to react in the way they will want to. Are all ships prepared?"

"Aye sir," Kuat responded.

"Very well, battlestations."

"Sound battlestations!"

The bridge crew began scrambling to their posts. Ahsoka saw sidearm boxes being brought out, and each of the enlisted men and women picked up a holster with a DH-17 Blaster Pistol, and the officers all checked their SSK-7's. Then the deep whooping moan of the dreadnought's battlestations klaxon began going off. If there was any sound that signified the impending doom of battle, it was this one. And Ahsoka was glad that GAR ships used a different one. The orders to launch starfighters came in rapidly and she saw the numerous dots of starfighters being deployed from the hangars of the many Republican Guard warships. Control officers directed them to massing points away from the fleet, and the ships began to heave over, pointing at their intended destination as hyperdrives began spooling up. Each of the six hundred plus ships showed a status symbol as far as shields, power, and hyperdrive capability were concerned, and she saw each flash green one by one until the screen was covered in green.

"Are you ready young one?" Drexel asked Ahsoka calmly.

"I was born ready."

Location: Grievous' Flagship, Separatist Naval Rallying Point Near Zeltros System

"Bail, Bail!" Padme called out through the vent over the lone flat bench in her cell, "You there?!"

"I'm here Padme!" Bail Organa answered, hearing her voice from the next cell over.

"I tried accessing the lock and lights, they're welded shut, and the vents are too small. I don't there's a way out of here that we can use," Padme sighed, reluctant to admit defeat.

"They're same in my cell as well, Grievous has taken precautions for this," Bail agreed, "Our best option is to be patient I'm afraid."

"I'm not very good at waiting," Padme responded, looking up at the camera constantly monitoring her cell, and got an idea.

She walked over to the wall where the camera was, and stood right below it and then reached down to the back of her boot's right heel. There she had a small ring knife hidden in a compartment in her boot's heel. The tough little blade was able to loop around two fingers and was an excellent little hidden ace in the hole that could pry open electrical equipment or injure an assailant. In this case it would break the camera and lure the droids into opening the door. Her thinking was that the droids had protocols, and among them was a need for mechanical perfection as far as maintenance went. So breaking something important would indeed draw them in. With this little device in her hand she lashed out up into the bottom of the camera, and the hardened blade punched right through the thin metal casing and a few sparks and smoke signaled that her deed was done.

"Come and get me," Padme said as she walked over to the door stairs that led down into her cell from the door.

After a few moments she heard the sounds of light clanking beyond the door, and knew her moment was coming. She held her breath as she heard the mechanics of the hatch hiss open and she lunged out to strike the first droid that came in. But her hand was caught in mid-strike and a clawed hand snapped tight around her neck, and the young senator was hoisted into the air to look eye to eye with Grievous himself. Gasping for air and grabbing the large metal arm she couldn't really comprehend an intelligible sentence to say. But she was practically being strangled and kicked with strong desperate attempts however was well out of range.

"Senator Amidala, you're tenacity is nothing short of surprising. It is no wonder you are feared by the likes of Gunray," Grievous greeted her.

"F-flattering," Padme wheezed out, and got a chuckle from the cyborg.

"Take her…" Grievous ordered the two Magnaguards whom she was tossed roughly towards and landed with a heavy thud. Coughing the two droids' hands clamped down tightly around her arms and a pair of cuffs were placed on her wrists and the trio followed Grievous out, "Once Gunray is informed of your capture the Republic will come. And so your Jedi rescuers will arrive, and be destroyed."

"You won't get away with this attack General, the Republic will find you," Padme said as they reached a turbolift to the bridge. It opened as she finished her sentence.

"Let them come," he showed her the view of over a thousand Separatist warships, all arrayed in combat formation. Twenty battleships dominated the formations, interspersed with sixty _Providence_ -Class Destroyer-Carriers. It was the largest fleet Padme had ever seen assembled in one place, and they outnumbered the Republican Guard by two to one, "Soon your rescuers, and their fleet, will be destroyed…"

"General, our base on Vivyis-12 has been destroyed," a droid called out to him from a comms station.

"Good," Grievous noted, "Let this contest begin. Launch the response force. Drexel…your career ends now."

Location: Vivyis-12, High Orbit

The fleet of two _Lucrehulk_ s and their escorting six _Providence_ -Class and forty _Resucant_ s and eighty _Munificent_ s arrived in orbit as expected. The ships dropped out of hyperspace close to the planet, and from opposite of them, was a nearly equally-sized fleet of all-red Republic warships. Three _Imperator_ 's, the equal of the _Lucrehulk_ s, and nine _Venator_ 's made up the core of this fighting fleet and were escorting their twelve . But it was what they were doing that was strange to the droid commanders in the bait fleet. The Republic ships were diving towards the planet.

Screening the fleet were the escort ships, _Arquitens_ -Class, _QuasarFire_ -Class, and the heavy Split-Bow Assault Frigates. All of them stayed behind their corvette escorts of Hammerheads, CR90's, and Charger Refit _Consular_ -Class. It was a well-coordinated maneuver, with the droids place well out of the range of their smaller medium turbolasers. But the heavy turrets on the Republican Guard Star Destroyers were just within range, and began firing from below, where the Separatists were weakest in their armor and shields. Streams of turbolaser fire from the three _Imperator_ s' octuple-barbette turbolaser turrets tore into the leading Separatist light destroyers, two of whom exploded as the exposed reactors were struck directly. Other Separatist ships took damage as even the few heavy guns on the Split-Bow heavy cruisers fired up into the Separatist formation, concentrating fire into the leading elements of the enemy fleet.

The biological commander aboard the leading battleship was not expecting Republic ships to have already made entry into the atmosphere and was hesitant. So he did something he should not have done, he hesitated as the Republic ships dove deeper away from him into the clouds, firing up into the bellies of his ships.

"General Grievous!" the Quarren officer pleaded, "The Republican Guard was already here, three task forces were waiting for us and they're diving into the atmosphere. I can't follow with my battleships, they can't operate in atmosphere and I can't split my forces with a dreadnought lurking somewhere nearby. They are deploying troops to the surface."

"Move your ships out of range and mass your fighter and bombers. I expected this trickery from that old man, but his dreadnought cannot operate in atmosphere either. No ship larger than a Star Destroyer can safely operate in a gravity well," Grievous responded in the communication, surprising the Quarren officer who hadn't expected Grievous to receive the news as well as he did, "Prepare for their starfighter assault. Reinforcements are on their way, crush those ships and those troops."

"Move us out of range," the commander ordered, "We'll have those ships destroyed in no time."

"Sir, we have ships dropping out of hyperspace," a sensor droid called out.

As he said that a terrifying sight greeted the Separatist fleet. Over five hundred Republic warships dropped out of hyperspace directly in front of him. The flow of contacts appearing on the holographic command center in front of came like a river. And then the target he and every Separatist commander feared most made its appearance. The massive goliath appeared, dwarfing all other Republic warships around it, and they were angled to come straight for him. Leading the formation were the sledgehammers of the Republican Guard, the _Imperator_ 's.

"Deploy all fighters! Screen us and open fire!" the man said as the first volleys came towards him.

The first strikes hit the leading _Providence_ -Class which seemingly disintegrated under the withering fire of several Republic Star Destroyers and the battle was fully joined. Vulture Droids and Tri-Fighters and Hyena Bombers swarmed from the decks of the Separatist fleet as squadrons of F-Wings and Y-Wings flowed relentlessly towards his fleet. Several _Munificent_ s and _Resucant_ s were destroyed right before his eyes as the Republic fleet bore down on him. Then he saw the sight he was waiting for. A thousand Separatist ships, jumping right in on top of him, right where Grievous wanted. He'd lured the Guard in close, into a straight battle of attrition. And on the bridge of the flagship Grievous was more than pleased with this development.

"We have the whole enemy fleet before us General," a droid officer called out as Padme remained stunned.

"Excellent, wha-," Grievous stopped in his tracks, but saw that something wasn't quite right.

"The distance to the enemy fleet is at extreme range," his gunnery droid said, "The enemy is moving forward at slow speed."

"General, enemy transport ships are not in the formation, sensors indicate they jumped out of lightspeed on the dark side of the moon and are moving in-atmosphere towards their landing site."

"How many?!" Grievous demanded.

"Sixty Acclamator-Class Assault Ships detected General."

"General, enemy fleet is accelerating, they're moving towards the planet on a controlled entry course," another of his droids called out.

"Impossible, a dreadnought cannot survive atmospheric gravity!"

"Scanning now," a droid said and tapped away, "Sensors indicate that the _Basilisk_ is giving off powerful tensor fields, far in excess of what intelligence says is possible for a dreadnought."

"Where did we get this intelligence?!" Grievous roared at his tactical droid.

"From a schematic of a Block-I _Mandator_ -Class Star Dreadnought. This intelligence however is dated," the upgraded droid answered quickly and efficiently, "The _Basilisk_ is a newer ship, believed to be upgraded in weaponry and hyperdrive capability exceeding the Ruusan Limitations, in violation of that treaty."

"Of course they upgraded their dreadnoughts!" Grievous snapped, "But no matter, we shall have this one destroyed, shortly. Move us into position to pursue, and prepare to land our troops! The Republic wants a land battle, then a land battle they shall receive."

"Our battleships will require protection, they are vulnerable alone," the droid responded.

"They have thrown everything they have at us, there is nothing left to guard against and we will need all our ships to engage that dreadnought!"

"We will have to divert fighters to escort our dropships, enemy starfighters and corvettes are numerous and more maneuverable," the tactical droid advised, "And the enemy have their strongest shields and armor facing our guns, and our ships' most vulnerable points shall be exposed."

Grievous growled angrily as he watched the armada of red warships disappear into the increasingly dense cloud cover that was surrounding the planet's surface. There was no way anything but extreme weather could interfere with ships but fighters would be gravely affected by the clouds gathering over the new battleground. But Grievous was not at all worried about that, he wanted that dreadnought, and the Grand Admiral who commanded it.

"All ships advance, descend to meet them. Prepare to board, assemble as many gunships as we can spare. Once we've softened them up, we'll board them and destroy their ship and their command."

Location:  _Basilisk_ , High Atmosphere of Vivyis-12

"Enemy fleet is reforming formation," Lieutenant Commander Kuat called out, "Looks like they're taking the bait."

"Our whole force is as good as bait gets, Grievous knows that," Drexel nodded, "But he's committed, he can't bring his battleships to bear and he can't retreat in the face of us. He's stuck. Are we arrayed to face them?"

"All formations are ready."

"Admiral, enemy dropships descending, too many to count," a sensor operations officer called out.

"Very well, weapons to full power, stand by anti-ship barrage."

Ahsoka could see from the bridge window the dots of swiveling turbolaser turrets from across the fleet. The Admiral had positioned them perfectly, and the droids were now descending directly into the line of fire.

"You're going to hit them as they're entering the atmosphere, when they're shields and power systems are at their most strained," Ahsoka figured out.

"And where their ships are naturally vulnerable, in their bellies," Wain said to her with a wink.

"All ships answer ready Admiral."

"Very well," Drexel nodded, "Primary those cruisers first, set secondary targets by range."

"Aye sir."

Drexel now tabbed a communications button at the table, "Hammer Fleet, do you copy?"

"Standing by," the voice of an officer on the other end responded.

"Grievous is in the nest, prepare to jump."

"Aye sir."

"Hammer Fleet?" Ahsoka questioned.

"A little trick we've kept up our sleeves since they rolled out of the docks two days ago," Drexel responded with a wink, "All ships, anti-ship fire, all batteries execute."

"Aye sir, all guns commence firing!"

From across the fleet blue turbolaser and flak laser fire let loose, aiming up into the sky as the dull orange of entering enemy ships began glowing above the clouds. The fire pierced the cloud cover, and tore into the droid ships, the focused fire smashing into the enemy fleet's leading elements shredding the vulnerable and fragile frigates and light destroyers. The droids fired back as the first hulks began plummeting towards the forest and mountains and the Republic ships continued their upwards bombardment. The first wreckage began appearing as pieces of ships and whole droid ships plummeted towards the ground. The land that was chosen was free of inhabited settlements in the cold northern rainforests where the Wookiees didn't like to live, so damage to any civil population would be minimal.

The impacts striking the ground shook the forest, and Ahsoka could see the grim effectiveness of the maneuver that had just been executed. She could see wreck after wreck falling from the sky and hitting the forest, sending explosions and wreckage sprouting into the air. She witnessed a _Providence_ -Class Destroyer/Carrier smash into the ground like a missile, its hull flaming and alight, and its flaming stern half stuck out of the forest canopy with its observation tower bent and hanging by a thread.

"It's working," she breathed, seeing the flaming fruits of what looked like victory.

But then to her right she saw a _Venator_ in the near distance firing its turbolasers trying to veer away. However its maneuver was too slow, and the ship was practically cut in two when the wreck of a _Resucant_ Light Destroyer fell into it, and both ships fell from the sky. The explosion she could feel fom within the bridge. A piece of engine from that same wreck collided with a Hammerhead Corvette near to the stricken _Venator_ and it two tumbled from the sky trailing thick smoke and debris.

"Star Destroyer _Invictus_ is down! Corvette _Iu_ is crash landing!" a bridge officer called out.

"They're diverting their entry angle, their wrecks are landing on us!" Kuat declared.

Ahsoka now saw the danger, Grievous was using his own fleet's wrecks as projectiles that nothing could stop, forcing the fleet to divert themselves and break formation if it wanted to survive the metal rain.

"Break formation and continue firing!" Drexel said quickly, "Damned cyborg's using his wrecks to break our formation. All fighters climb and intercept. We need to stay low, and get Grievous' ships fully engaged in-atmosphere."

Ahsoka turned back and saw a few pieces of wreckage striking the _Basilisk_ 's hull, all of them shattering upon impact against the strong armor. But a few other ships she could see were not so lucky, a CR90 was clipped by a piece of debris, and began listing and fell into a semi-controlled descent, trailing smoke and its engines flickering to stay alive. A Split-Bow Heavy Cruiser was hit by a whole _Munificent_ Frigate smashing into its long exposed central hull, splitting the heavy cruiser in half and sent both portions crashing into the ground.

But the fleet kept firing, and now began to gain speed, and started moving around, and she saw only pieces of debris starting to make any contact that the larger ships could handle. But the enemy was getting through. Red turbolaser fire rained down thicker than before and now she saw enormous swirling dogfights taking shape around the battlespace as explosions and flak bursts from side lit up the skies. Amongst them all were C-9979 dropships descending towards the planet, and on the ground they began depositing their divisions of droids.

"Dropships are getting to the ground!" Ahsoka called out.

"We know, we're shooting as many down as we can but there's a thousand of them under fighter escort, we can't get them all," Wain replied as he tried routing reserve squadrons to intercept the transports.

"Master where are you?" Ahsoka asked herself.

Location: Grievous' Flagship, in High Orbit of Vivyis-12

Grievous was tapping tensely on his chair's arms as he and his two hostages observed the battle. His fleet was making headway. Despite initially heavy losses his ships had done considerable damage in their death plunges, destroying several enemy ships and damaging others. But the dreadnought and the _Imperator_ 's remained defiantly effective. The screens of corvettes and cruisers swirled constantly preventing his ships from getting close and the _Imperator'_ s ruthlessly hunted down his heavier _Providence_ -Class ships and decimated them as they came down to join the battle.

"General, all ships are at point of entry," a droid called out to him, "All forces are committed."

"Good," Grievous acknowledged.

"You're doomed General, the Republic fleet has you where it wants you," Bail Organa said defiantly.

"I don't think so, I can still escape, while they have trapped themselves against the planet with my ships raining down on top of them," Grievous waved off, knowing that the odds were saying that his ships were indeed winning as they crowded in above the enemy ships.

His fleet was arranged just so that if one went down it would endanger a Republic ship or ships. This was a great danger, and the Republican Guard was breaking its formation, allowing for him to utilize his numbers. If they wanted to avoid this fate they would have to climb, and this would then bring them in reach of his battleships. His plan was working as predicted.

"Any sign of the Jedi?" Grievous demanded.

"None yet General. We are scanning for any stray shuttles or gunships, but there are so many craft that picking out patterns is impossible."

"Keep scanning! They will come, and when they do, their lightsabers shall be mine," he said as he looked at Padme and Bail, both held tightly by their Magnaguard captors, but Padme was still defiant.

"Oh I don't think so."

Location: Vivyis-12, 3rd Guard Legion Frontlines

Most of the trees were on fire, as was the wreckage. Even the very air itself was thick with glowing cinders blowing about as the infantry company moved out towards their objective, a downed corvette. Wyatt and Eva and the rest of 1st Platoon of Echo Company were tasked with getting to a Consular-Class Cruiser that had gone down two kilometers from their lines, right in the path of a droid battalion advancing down the valley. The crew of ten was still alive, but couldn't move their six wounded. So Delta Company was dispatched to get them out and hold the droids as long as they could.

The uneven terrain was thick with massive roots and boulders, making the terrain impassable to armor. So they were out on foot, with Wyatt's fireteam leading the way. He'd been forced to switch his grenade launcher with Hal, and Eva had to take over as their AT specialist and give the DLT-18 to Kyly. The Lieutenant had enforced the fireteam makeup more strictly today before they'd landed. And seeing the battle going on overhead and the numerous casualties other units had already sustained Wyatt fully understood why. They'd need their chain of command intact today, there were going to be a lot of casualties.

"Spread out, we're getting close," Lieutenant Yuno ordered the platoon, carefully leading them towards the pillars of smoke that were the obvious beacon to the crash site.

"Let's move up, quietly now," Wyatt said as he lead his fireteam on the left side of the squad wedge.

"1-1, on the high ground to the north go," his squad leader ordered them as they grew closer, "We're on overwatch while they clear the site."

"Roger, Charlie moving," Wyatt responded quickly, and he pointed out the wooded high ground in question, "Watch the hill, don't skyline."

He the others made their way up, staying amongst the boulders as they jogged through the knee-high ferns and slick muddy ground. Their rifles were loosely near their shoulders, ready to be snapped up to meet any droids that they came across. The squad was summiting the ridge when they heard the nearby sounds of droid vehicles, moving in quickly from the east. They were in a bowl-like depression, with higher ground to their left (north), and flatter ground that leveled out to their right. Ahead of them the valley seemed to level out into the area where the Consular had crashed, leaving a trail of shattered trees, pieces of debris, and flaming puddles of fuel around the area with chewed up dirt starting a hundred meters back and ending at the remains of the hull. The port engine lay separate from the ship, flames rising from the engine, and the rest of the ship lay partly on its port side, with its starboard engine being up in the air and pieces of metal strewn about with its hull ripped open in several places and not a single viewscreen or window being intact.

"Got eyes on an MTT!" Eva called out, poking her head up over the ridge, and saw the vehicle complete with battle droids leading it forward coming down the valley.

"I see it too," Wyatt nodded, getting up next to her, just seeing the vehicle passing behind a few large trees as it turned to get around a fallen and burning tree, "1-1, 1-1 Charlie, got eyes on an MTT moving towards the crashsite from the east."

"1-1 copies, get cover, prepare to engage."

"Eva, Kyly, take those rocks, Hal get your ass over here. I want a rocket right through the bridge of that fekker! You understand?" Wyatt demanded.

"Roger that corporal," Hal nodded and moved over to a rock that would give him a view of the enemy MTT as it came forward. The rest of the squad moved in behind them as they waited for the order to fire and by the time they did hear the call for set something happened.

A loud bang and creaking noise emanated from the MTT and they saw the vehicle appearing to be stuck. It was facing directly at them, but a log was blocking it from moving forward towards the crash site. The hatch to release its droid cargo began to open as Wyatt laid eyes on it. This was a chance to hit the vehicle while it was incredibly vulnerable.

"Hal hit that thing right fekking now," he snapped, grabbing his rifleman and tugging him out from behind the rock to take a shot, "Put it right into the deployer!"

"Backblast clear!" Hal called as he shouldered the launcher.

"It's clear, just shoot!" Eva snapped.

"Got a lock, rocket!"

He pulled the trigger and the rocket blew out from the tube and the smoke trail led right into the right side of the MTT's gaping deployment bay, and exploded within. When the smoke cleared a bit they saw the rocket had done its job in disabling the vehicle instantly and it dropped to the ground, wrenching the racks skywards. Black smoke and flame burst from the vehicle as a fuel tank caught fire and droids began moving up and they saw another droid deployment rack get deposited further just around the bend well behind the first vehicle they'd just hit.

"Oh fek there's another one in defilade!" Eva called out, but when she said that another rocket went out from one of the other squads down below.

The rocket missed just short, exploding in the underbrush as droid infantry ran out from around the corner and on the high ground, moving and firing along the way. Eva directed Kyly to begin firing, and everyone else began firing as quickly as they could. The droids' red laser fire pummeled the crash site as they started taking cover, bounding up as others covered them, usually with the sturdier B2's leading packs of B1's. Wyatt's squad was the one taking the most contact and were hard-pressed to take cover and fire back as the droids moved and fired in a far more proficient manner than they normally fought in.

"They're fighting differently!" Eva noted.

"It's like they're fighting like us," Wyatt nodded, "lifelike almost!"

"Not lifelike enough!" Hal said as he stood up to fire back and prove his point.

Over his shoulder Wyatt saw, on slightly higher ground directly on their left flank, movement from at least a platoon of droids cresting the ridge, looking right down at them.

"Hal get down!" Wyatt ordered, but Hal was a little slow, and a blaster bolt struck him directly in his left knee and into his shin and he went down grasping at the singed holes in his leg.

He immediately began cussing at the droids in excruciating pain, jamming up the fireteam net, and Wyatt immediately muted him to save his ears. Eva turned her grenade launcher towards the hill and fired, popping a HE round right up at the droids and it exploded amongst a bunched up group, taking them all out with a shower of broken metal parts and dirt. Kyly tried to move positions and then took cover with her bipod propped up to aim up into the enemy droids firing down into their flank. Wyatt grabbed Hal and dragged him into a hole in the ground behind some rocks as the squad medic rushed up and slid down next to him.

"Go I got him!" he told Wyatt as the sergeant slid in next to them.

"Corporal! Get your team deployed to suppress them, I've got mortars coming in on that hill, keep those junkers in place!" he quickly ordered.

"Roger that sarge!" Wyatt nodded, and grabbed the rocket launcher from the ground next to Hal along with the three rockets in his pack.

As he ran up a B2 with a rocket fired a rocket down into their area and it exploded behind him and knocked him forward into the air, and he landed hard behind Eva. Getting back to his feet he shook off the rough landing and tightly clutched his rifle and began firing up to suppress the enemy. They fired and fired, hitting many of them as they tried advancing but the droids realized that this was now a shootout. But when that happened the whistling noises of mortar fire greeted Wyatt's ears and the hill seemed to detonate with the sizeable explosions of mortar shells striking the hill and effectively destroying the droid formation.

"Got 'em!" Kyly whooped as she stood up to get a better look, but Eva and Wyatt couldn't speak up to get her down fast enough.

A red blaster bolt passed through the lower vertical support of her helmet's visor and then cleanly bisected her visor itself and went out the other side. The girl dropped to the ground and her hands immediately went to her face and she started screaming. Eva rushed to her side and pulled her hands down away from her battle buddy's helmet and Wyatt began pulling off her helmet to see that Kyly was in rough shape. Blood poured from the singed cuts from the shattered bits of visor stuck in her face including her eyes, and all of her face eyebrow and eyes had a serious burn on it. The wounded girl was whimpering in pain as another fireteam rushed to their aid and their grenadier got hit directly in the chest and lurched back into the ground, killed instantly. The medic rushed to Kyly's side as Hal limped over, and saw her condition for himself.

"Hold her down!" the medic roared at Eva, "Keep her hands at her side."

The medic had to roughly pin Kyly's left arm down with his knee as Eva grabbed her right arm and held it down. Wyatt grabbed Kyly's DLT-18 and tossed it to Hal.

"Keep blasting!" he ordered him and the battle continued.

The firing continued and continued until Wyatt felt a massive concussion hit them from behind. A pieve of ship debris hit the ground, and right above them a _Venator_ was coming down from behind it, trailing smoke and fire. The groan of the ship's engines could easily be heard, and the nose of the ship was aiming directly at them. The red star destroyer was in trouble. It had deployed its landing gear and was trying to land safely, but red turbolaser fire from an equally crippled _Providence_ continued pummeling it.

"Take cover!" Wyatt heard the radio call out as the ship went over them and pieces of debris fell around them.

Everyone tucked themselves in, praying they'd be okay. The medic dove over Kyly to protect his wounded patient, and Eva tucked in next to the boulder she and Wyatt were behind. Wyatt hit the ground as the forward landing strut hit the trees, shearing them away like toothpicks and then hit the high ground they'd just been firing at. After a few seconds though the weight of the massive ship was too much to bear and the strut snapped and the ship's nose dipped into the ground and crashed down mere meters above them. The ship's hull began breaking up at this point, raining pieces of metal plate around them as big as gunships along with piping, interior corridors, and parts of all kinds. The ship slid some more and the port strut gave out, dropping the ship onto its left side, tearing that portion apart. The hull's seams were wrenched away from one another as the ship settled and stopped.

The battleground had been coated in the wreckage of the downed star destroyer, with pieces of the hull scattered about with the main intact portion hovering over their heads blocking out the sun. Wyatt looked up and saw a piece of armor plate had landed behind him with sparks coming from wiring attached to it. The rest of their position was coated in wreckage and debris set ablaze with the destruction that had befallen the area. He couldn't see anyone from the squad, the devastation was so total. But he could see Eva.

"Eva!" Wyatt coughed out, pulling at her as she stirred, "You okay?"

"Y-yeah!" she called out hesitantly, looking around as she got up, weapon to her shoulder, "What the kriff just happened?"

"Star destroyer just crashed, we're lucky," he responded, looking around them, "Let's find the others. 1-1, this is Charlie, do you read?"

"Corporal!" he heard from beneath a pile of rubble, it was Hal.

"Hal!" Wyatt ran over and pulled the pieces of metal away, and saw the beat up armor of his rookie, pinned beneath the wreckage.

"Hang on kid," Eva called out, and they quickly dug him out.

"Where's Kyly?" the boy quickly asked.

"Mike, Charlie, you still up? Where are you?" he called, and looked at his HUD, and saw that many of the squad and platoon had gone from green to yellow or red. Half of them were hurt in some way, and four were dead. Among the living at least was Kyly and the medic.

"Over here!" a hand waved them over, and they saw the medic hoisting Kyly's right arm over his shoulder and carried her staggering to them, "Get her bandaged up. I gotta get to the others."

"Hal, take care of her, Eva let's get to the others."

"Scratch that," an order called out, it was Lieutenant Yuno.

"Sir?" Wyatt asked.

"Orders from the top, we need to get to the bridge and confirm that their computers are wiped. They can't contact whoever's left on that ship. I need you two to get aboard and find their captain and demo any computers on the command deck that're intact," Yuno ordered them both, "The whole legion's advancing to form a line on us. But the droids will be coming for this ship. You need to get there, and confirm the data destruction."

"Yes sir understood sir," Wyatt nodded and nodded to Eva, who nodded back.

"Another data and data recovery mission huh?" Eva chuckled as they jogged up.

"Yep, seems like it's happening a lot today."

Location: Dreadnought  _Basilisk_ , Atmosphere of Vivyis-12

"The enemy fleet's committed!" Commander Kuat called out, seeing the last of the enemy formation entering the atmosphere.

"Sir another star destroyer just went down," a comms officer called out, and Ahsoka looked around and saw the silhouette of the ship off in the distance, consumed by dust smoke.

"Master Skywalker, have you plotted the jump coordinates for our little surprise?" Drexel asked.

"Already done Admiral," the voice of Anakin responded with his usual confidence.

"Very well, Hammer Fleet, jump and engage those battleships," Admiral Drexel gave the command.

"Copy that jumping.

"What exactly is Hammer Fleet?" Ahsoka questioned, hearing the explicit order to engage twenty-one enemy battleships. Not just any ships could do such a thing.

Drexel expanded the scope of the map, to show the battleships perched in low orbit. Behind them were several beacons, friendly ones. These ones were the symbols for Anakin and Obi Wan, just sitting quietly, drifting towards Grievous' flagship right under his nose amongst the wrecks of the initial enemy casualties. But just beyond them were nine lines, indicating jump points for them.

They were then occupied by nine truly monstrous surprises for the droids. Six three-thousand meter long _Revenge_ -Class Heavy Carriers and three four-thousand meter long _Praetor_ -Class Battlecruisers dropped out of hyperspace directly behind the enemy fleet of battleships with their wedge-shaped hulls pointing their full complement of weapons directly into the enemy battleships. The 1,600 meter-long _Imperator_ 's could take on a _Lucrehulk_ in a close fight, but _Praetor_ s and _Revenge_ s were far larger and far more heavily armed. These ships were battleship killers, and they had just caught Grievous with his pants down.

Location: General Grievous' Flagship, Low Orbit of Vivyis-12

Padme hadn't expected a visit from someone that she greatly despised. The slimy filth that was Nute Gunray had arrived in a shuttle early in the battle, and entered the bridge of the battleship.

"Well done General," Gunray said, greatly pleased as he and several other Neimodian ceremonial guards and a couple members of his entourage joined them on the bridge.

"Gunray," Padme snarled with all the menace she possessed.

"I don't have time for your visit Gunray, I am in the middle of a battle," Grievous declared, turning away from the scene in front of him.

"I felt it wise to claim my prize and witness our grand triumph personally," Gunray responded as he stood next to him.

"My triumph, the Republican Guard will be destroyed by my hand!"

"Or you will shoulder the blame for their victory," Bail responded.

"Doubtful…"

"General, enemy ships coming out of hyperspace!" a droid called out.

Immediately upon saying that the ships lurched hard as several hundred turbolasers and ion cannons tore into the rear engines of Grievous' flagship, devastating the sublight engines and destroying its hyperdrive assembly. A power shortage immediately darkened the ship and the red emergency lights kicked in. Nothing but an ion cannon fed by a reactor as large or larger than his own ship could do such a thing.

"Kenobi?!" Grievous roared.

"Nine enemy capital ships dropped out of hyperspace, all are larger and more heavily armed than our own," the tactical droid responded, "Their design indicates that they are battlecruisers and heavy carriers."

"What is happening?!" Gunray cried out.

"Return fire!" Grievous ordered as a battleship just to their left was obliterated from the concentrated fire of the ships behind them.

"Sir we are disabled, navigation and propulsion do not answer, we're drifting towards the planet."

Another battleship's starboard ring was torn away as one above and in front of the flagship exploded and severed the ring and central sphere from one another from the concentrated fire of heavy turbolasers hitting it directly into the engine block. Starfighters from the Republican Guard carriers zoomed past the bridge, engaging the handful of starfighters that had remained to guard the battleships. Over their heads came the shadow of a red dagger looming over their ship as it listed lazily. Grievous recognized it as a _Praetor_ -Class Battlecruiser from its sheer size. He knew his fleet was doomed now, not even _Lucrehulk_ s could take on three of these monsters and a dreadnought. They were repurposed freighters, these were specifically designed to do battle with capital ships.

"We must get out of here, now!" Gunray insisted fearfully, cowering away from the sight of the Kuati giants.

"We are willing to negotiate the terms of your surrender General," Padme smirked.

"Prepare the escape ships!" Grievous immediately ordered, and saw the smug faces of the two senators, "Don't feel so comfortable Senators. I don't think our time together is at an end."

"You think the Guard won't shoot you down with us as a shield?" Bail said.

"Your claim is 92.9 percent inaccurate Senator Organa," the tactical droid responded, "Hostages have stopped Republic military action quite effectively."

"Especially with the Jedi coming to rescue you…"

Location: Hangar of Grievous' Flagship

Ten F7 Gunships zoomed in through the hangar, six carried the Clones and Jedi of Anakin and Obi Wan's personal units, and the others contained Republican Guard special forces, Anaxes Knights and Caridan Commandos. The heavily armed gunships immediately opened fire, sending barrages of rockets and laser fire into everything that moved, droids, roaming walking Vulture droids, and every turret in the hangar. They were excellent for this type of work, and due to their surprise entry didn't suffer a scratch before touching down.

This force was meant specifically to rescue the Senators, and/or capture of kill Grievous. The Caridans and Anaxes Knights were insisted-upon by the Guard's special forces commander, who saw an opportunity for his best troops to show off for the best the Republic had. Obi Wan was more than happy to have the Knights join them, but Anakin and the Clones were a bit reluctant for the added numbers.

The force had split into two groups, Obi Wan leading his platoon of 212th Clone Troopers and two squads of Anaxes Knights while two teams of Caridans accompanied Anakin and a platoon of 501st Troopers. They each landed in a separate hangar, directly across from one another. Each left a squad of Clones to guard their rides out.

"Alright, we'll sweep the main halls, keep your scanners on high, we're looking for lifesigns," Anakin informed his men.

"Sir yes sir," Rex acknowledged.

"Roger," the Caridan captain in charge of his teams responded with a nod, "Sabre-2-2, Sabre-2-3, you heard him, let's move."

"What's with all the numbers?" Rex asked Anakin.

"They're sticklers for organization," Anakin shrugged and began moving out, "Master, we're moving into the main halls now."

"Very well, we're doing the same, make sure you lead the way, we both know how dangerous Grievous is," Obi Wan warned his friend.

"With my luck he'll bump into you, you are his favorite," Anakin smirked as they walked onwards.

"Which is why I have some swordsmen to help me cut him down to size."

 **I think eight thousand words is a good stopping point. At some point it just gets repetitive and I've been put off for long enough. I apologize for not posting sooner, school this semester was just a real constant barrage that I had to just buckle down and focus. But I'm back, and on the attack. I'm also pleased to announce something else.**

 **I've begun a gaming channel on Youtube, gaming is where I get a lot of my inspiration, especially lately since I have become a fully-fledged member of the 506** **th** **IR Realism Unit on Arma 3. We are currently in Winter Stand Down right now, so I'll be able to enjoy some writing and get you guys some quality content. I have already posted a video on my channel: "BIG Z1776 Gaming" of my first training op with the 506** **th** **. I will also be doing some livestreams in the near future, and will share other content as soon as I can. In the meantime, hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The rescue is underway, and the battle below continues to intensify.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Location: Vyvis-12, Wreck of the Republican Guard Star Destroyer _Honorable_

The interior of the downed warship was absolutely wrecked. The two Tanaab troopers, Wyatt and Eva, were working their way back, trying to get through to the bridge. As they walked they had to step over and past bodies of red-uniformed crewmen and women and officers. Most were killed by the impact, many others were dead from the fires and killed by explosions from within the ship and from hull breaches from enemy fire. Wires, lights, pieces of the ceiling and walls all clogged the way forward. To make it worse the ship had crashed and was tilting to their left at about twenty degrees.

"Look," Wyatt pointed at a blast door that was trying weakly to close, "That's gotta be the way to the bridge."

"I think so," Eva said, looking down at her wrist screen, nodding at the map she had on it.

"Oh jeez," Wyatt winced, looking down past the blast door.

The door was the big kind that closed with four sliding triangular sections. But only the bottom right section was fully deployed, the top two were partly open, and the last was jammed just barely visible, weakly going up and down. There was a full squad of white and red armored Marines, all dead, blaster fire eminent on their once pristine armor. Wyatt stepped over the body of a man who was laying with his body in the hall they'd come from and knees bent over the jammed blast door. There was an E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster Cannon laying on its side on the wall. The corridor branched into a four-way junction, with one of the doors completely shut, and the other two were fully open.

"These guys got boarded," Eva said, pointing at the numerous droids laying in the hallway.

"Help…" a voice hoarsely called out from their left.

"Eva, an officer!" Wyatt said quickly and slid down next to the young man.

He had a brown uniform on, with the red stripes on the sleeves and pant legs symbolizing him being aa Guard officer. The patch on his right arm bore the symbol for the planet Commenor. His uniform was torn up, and he had a pair of blaster wounds on his hip and lower abdomen.

"What're you doing here?" the man asked. His eyes were groggy, uncoordinated, and the sight of two camouflaged army troops on his ship was throwing him off.

"Your ship crashed sir," Wyatt responded.

"We've been boarded…they're gonna get to the reactor…have to abandon ship," the man trailed off, looking around, "Chief!"

Wyatt looked around, and saw a trio of crewmen on the deck, blood trails going down from their bodies where they lay face down. One bore the rank of Chief Petty Officer, the other ones were simple crewmen. He rushed over, and slipped on the blood on the deck that was trailing from a dead female officer laying on the deck. Trying to take a pulse for signs of life Wyatt was disappointed to see that not one of the red Commenor crewmen was alive. All seemed to have been killed in the crash itself. But a couple crew beyond them were killed by blaster fire. The DH-17's on the ground were evidence of this. One had his arm in a makeshift sling, signaling he'd been wounded before. He'd been leading this section to escape pods.

"They're dead sir," Wyatt shook his head.

"Sir, we'll call for a medic," Eva said as she opened up her medical pack at her hip.

"Eva," Wyatt said as he looked at the officer, who hadn't made a noise since he and Eva had tried to find signs of life in the other crew.

She looked down at the officer, and saw his eyes were half-open, staring up at her, unmoving and his body still, "Shit!"

She held her fingers to his neck, but sighed unhappily as she found that he'd succumbed to his wounds.

"We need to keep moving. The droids are probably still on board, we need to demo those computers," Wyatt said grimly, remembering their mission to destroy the sensitive information in the computer cores of the bridge command centers.

"Right behind ya," Eva shook her head, saddened by losing this officer.

The two began to move, following the path that their helmets told them. This didn't last for very long until they got to the end of the line for them. The corridor was collapsed, and the smoke that rose from the ship was being funneled through here. The corridor was blocked by a jammed blast door, but there was a hole blasted in the top armor plate that they could climb up through.

"We can run to the towers from on the hull, and then climb from there," Wyatt said quickly.

"That's over a hundred meters Wyatt, almost straight up," Eva reminded him, looking up through the hole.

"It's all we've got," Wyatt shrugged, and then jumped up, grabbing onto the wires, and started pulling himself up through the ten foot wide hole, "Let's go, that's an order."

"You've got one rank on me!" Eva countered as she jumped up and Wyatt helped her up.

The two found themselves back in the open air, on top of the sloping hull. The top hull section sloped slightly already when sitting level but it wasn't level, and the two had to scramble up the mangled hull. They got to the hangar door, which was buckled and damaged, with numerous holes blasted into it. Smoke poured from here, numerous fires burning within the hangar, with explosions rocking the ship every so often.

"Munitions," Wyatt said, looking over at Eva.

"Yeah, let's get as far away from that as possible," she nodded, and the two began to run along the very edge of the opposite side where it was nearly level.

"We're almost there," Wyatt said as they continued moving. But then he saw something up on top of the command towers. Both were intact, but neither were out of danger, jet droids, B1's and B2's, were buzzing it.

"They're firing into the bridge!" Eva said, startled and distressed at what they were seeing.

They could see red laser fire going into the windows of both bridges. Blue laser fire was being returned, but there wasn't nearly as much of it. Wyatt aimed up, and fired into the numerous droids, firing at the droids from below as both went forward, firing and moving between pieces of wreckage scattered on the red scarred hull. Droids began dropping, but there wasn't enough of them being hit. However it did draw half of the droids away from the attack, and they dove for the two troopers.

"Got their attention!" Wyatt called out, and fired at the droids that were flying down towards them at a rapid pace.

He fired at them and dropped to a knee behind a crashed Y-Wing engine, and fired as best he could. The automatic lead that his HUD gave him helped to put the crosshairs on the enemy droids and he was able to squeeze off round after round in automatic bursts that tore them from the sky. The two managed to shoot down the rocket droids and sent them spiraling down to smash against the hull. However they still had another twenty moving up towards them on the ground that they'd missed. Wyatt tossed a droid popper that landed amongst five droids, and the droids flashed with overloading circuits and dropped. But Wyatt had to duck as red blaster bolts forced him to move into different cover, firing into the pair of B1's that had flanked him.

Eva was bobbing back and forth behind a peeled up piece of hull. She had caught a dozen droids in the open that were much more capable than the normal droids that they usually faced. The jet droids jumped up into their, firing into their positions. She had to be just as nimble, and had to be much more accurate. Thankfully, she had a full auto setting and a grenade launcher slung under her rifle. She fired into groupings of droids, damaging or dropping them entirely. And soon enough Wyatt managed to get forward and flanked them as the droids got into cover and pummeled them with a fully automatic burst from his A280.

"They just keep coming!" Wyatt said as he continued fighting the droids back as the two moved in sprints back and forth.

"There's not many left!" Eva said as she fired into a gaggle of them that were trying to set up on a mangled piece of hull, and then for good measure lobbed a grenade right into them, and the hull beneath the droid's buckled and dropped with the droids on it.

"Not anymore!" Wyatt shook his head as he got to a position for her to move up and join him, right at the base of the tower so they could begin the climb via ascension cables, "Get your ascension cable ready."

"Right," Eva said as she leaned against the bridge tower, and could see that the tower was pretty beat up, with fires raging from holes in the sides that they'd have to chance ascending through.

"Try to avoid the fires, cables don't like heat," Wyatt reminded her as he clamped his cable deployer on tight, "And…fire."

He and Eva both hit the button on their ascension cable deployer and the liquid spool began to be rapidly drained at the rocket powered dart shot upwards and both impacted on the bottom of the ship's port bridge. They both gave the cables a hard tug, and then both hit the return button and they began to get lifted off of the ground, bouncing against the sloping tower as they started but then were hanging only by their rifles and their buckles latched onto it from their armor and their own handholds on it. Once there they grabbed onto anything that they could, and fought the urge to look down.

"Don't look down!" Eva said to Wyatt, but chanced a look around them, and in the air they saw the numerous warships of the Guard battling it out with swarms of starfighters swirling around, dotting the sky with smoke and fire of downed fighters, and pieces of wreckage and whole ships plummeting to the ground.

"Fek you!" Wyatt said, deathly afraid of such heights. He hesitantly grabbed on pieces of hull plate that provided a decent handhold and pulled himself to the vertical portion hand by hand until he was standing on the ledge, "A little help?" he asked, holding a hand out that was grabbed by Eva and they both got up on top of the bridge.

Here, on the fighter control section of the bridge they could see a hole that they could use to get inside. There was the flash of droids firing within and Eva sprinted over with a droid popper in hand. The girl dropped it within the gaggle of droids firing into the blasted open door and it went off and the whole force of twenty battle droids dropped in the densely packed hallway. The floor was covered with the bodies of crewmen and marines and dotted with an officer every so often. But the droids were also filling in the gaps.

"Hey, friendlies coming in!" Wyatt yelled, holding a hand down to be easily seen.

He then dropped down into the hall, and saw a handful of bloodied crew, officers, and a pair of Marines fortified in the hall. Eva dropped down next to him, and they moved over as a senior officer, a commander, walked over to them.

"Commander sir," Wyatt snapped off a salute, "Corporal Wyatt, 3rd Guard Legion. We're here to make sure the computers are destroyed."

"3rd Legion? How'd you get here? And are you it?" the senior Commenor officer asked, stunned by what he saw.

"Yes sir," Eva nodded.

"You two fought your way here? The droids that were buzzing us?" a sergeant amongst the marines questioned.

"We took 'em out from below, managed to force them to split up and caught most in the air," Wyatt shrugged.

"Damn I'm gonna put you two in for a commendation," the commander shook his head in wonder.

"We're not done yet sir. The other bridge's computers?"

"We don't know, the Captain said she was going to, but we never got confirmation before we hit the ground," the commander replied, "You two," he pointed to the two remaining marines, "Go with 'em. The intel in those banks has to be wiped."

"Aye sir," the two disciplined Marines saluted.

"The best way is across the gap sir," Eva suggested, pointing at the glass window.

"Oh you're kidding me," Wyatt groaned under his breath as he followed Eva over to the blown out windows and she stepped out after firing her ascension cable into the top of the other side and then above their own window. They couldn't see any signs of life in the other bridge, and so Eva went first, holding onto the cable with both hands, hanging over the gap.

Wyatt had no choice but to follow, and they both went out as the two Marines did the same thing, and they tentatively moved. His arms burned, his hands felt like they wanted to just fall off due to their cables cutting into them. Eva managed to get over with no problems and stepped in. She walked in, and then a blue blaster bolt was fired from out of sight and Wyatt saw Eva drop. His fears were confirmed when he saw her bio readings go yellow and a red dot appeared over right abdomen.

"Eva!" he yelled desperately, knowing that something very wrong had just occurred as he got to the ledge and scrambled inside. Standing there was an officer, a young ensign, holding an SSK-7 Blaster Pistol. Wyatt lost control when saw the end smoking from having just been fired. He looked up just as Wyatt scrambled in with his A280 in both hands.

Right in front of numerous officers Wyatt belted the young ensign across the face with the butt of his rifle and sent him sprawling into the pit next to the central walkway. Eva was clutching at the blaster wound, gasping in pain as he leaned down next to her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he screamed at the ensign who was slowly trying to get to his feet, "You shot her! You stupid son of a bitch!"

"I'm okay," Eva hissed out as the two Marines from the other scrambled in.

"Captain sir," the sergeant said, upon seeing the female captain rush over, her head bandaged and arm in a sling.

"What the hell is this?!" she demanded, trying to figure out what was going on. Behind her a squad of Marines and several other officers rushed in, and saw the two camouflaged troopers on her bridge that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

"One your stupid fekkers shot one of our own!" Wyatt screamed, ripping off his helmet and stood in her face. The other Marines behind her stepped forward.

"Watch yourself Corporal, it was an accident."

"Accident?! Are you kidding me?! You dumb bitch we came here to save you!" Eva snapped as well, but caused herself too much pain and groaned as she dropped her head back.

"Marines, get these troopers off my bridge and prepare the demo charges," the captain replied, and stepped back, and two of the Marines grabbed a hold of Wyatt who resisted harshly, throwing one into the pit in a still-uncontrollable fury and belted a second across the face with his rifle. But the staff sergeant in charge of them smacked him across the face with his stun baton, dropping him like a bag of potatoes. Four of the others grabbed a stretcher and put Eva on it and the others put Wyatt's arms over their shoulders and dropped him in the corridor outside the bridge. It is here a makeshift hospital was set up already with numerous crewmen and marines being patched up or waiting to be patched up or worse, shot up with painkillers to await death's embrace.

"Do we cuff him cap'n?" the Marine senior NCO asked as both Tanaab troopers were dropped next to each other.

"No, pressing any charges will only turn this whole incident into a shit show. I've lost my ship, no sense in dragging a simple soldier down with me," she shook her head, "But take their weapons. He'll still be pissed one of our people shooting one of his."

"He openly disrespected you captain!" an officer snapped, enraged, "This farmboy needs to be taught their place!"

"Normally yes, but you'll only piss off the legion that's keeping the droids away, look," the staff sergeant pointed at the patch on Wyatt's shoulder, "3rd Guards Legion. We crashed on their position and they're securing the wreck and saving what's left of our crew. I think we can overlook an emotional reaction to fratricide."

"And we will, is that understood Lance Corporal?" the captain looked down at Eva who had a Marine tending to her wound, and was really loopy from the pain killers.

"He shot me!"

"She's gone sir, meds," the Marine replied, "She's not going to remember any of this."

Location: Dreadnought Basilisk, Low Atmosphere of Vivyis-12

"Separatist battleships are falling back, trying to align for the jump to hyperspace," Commander Kuat called out.

"Very well, and the Jedi?" Drexel asked.

"They've landed and are sweeping through the flagship," replied the comms officer that was directly responsible for monitoring the boarding party.

"Have they met Grievous yet?" Ahsoka asked.

"You want out of here don't you?" Drexel asked.

"Yeah, my master likes to make every battle a competition. Probably to distract me from the death," Ahsoka responded.

"We have more starfighters than pilots right now. A pilot in our reserve squadron just had a spill down the stairs and has a broken leg. We could use the help," the Commander-Air-Group of the Basilisk immediately piped up. He knew of the Jedi's prowess in the air behind the controls of starfighters and he wanted some of that magic.

"Do you know how to fly a Y-Wing?" Kuat asked.

"I flew one at Ryloth," she proudly declared.

"I'll okay it," Drexel nodded, "Just make sure you get back here."

"Yes sir," Ahsoka proudly responded and turned to leave and left through the large doors that then shut behind her with a double layer of blast doors shutting the hatch between them. Then a squad of Anaxes Knights stepped back in front of the doors with another pair of Marine squads in their normal place outside the bridge and command deck, "I think you guys got this."

The Knights simply looked over at her, and the white-caped master just wordlessly nodded. With that Ahsoka just ran into the turbolift and was jetted down towards the place she remembered the way to the hangar. It was a simple run into the hangar, and waiting there were numerous starfighters of the Basilisk's reserve squadrons. Lined up in the back of the hangar was a full complement of twelve Y-Wings, right where she knew there would be some.

"I was told to report to the 56th Fighter-Bomber Squadron," she said quickly to the squadron commander who was in the cockpit of his Y-Wing, like the others in his squadron.

"You're the Jedi?" the man asked, not quite believing his eyes.

"That's right," Ahsoka nodded.

"If you're crazy enough get in number nine."

He pointed over his shoulder, and Ahsoka did a quick force-assisted jump and landed next to the Y-Wing. It was slimmer and smaller than the GAR variant she was used to. But it was still rugged, well-armored. Painted on the side of the cockpit were six frigate silhouettes and a battleship silhouette, signifying the ship kills that the pilot had taken part in. The nose of the Y-Wing had the same symbol as the others aboard the ship, a picture of Kuat with the name of the planet below the circle and the name of ship above it. There was no gunner in a turret behind her, but instead there was the small auto-turret that was built on top of the cockpit. The astromech was loaded in, and beeped at her as she climbed into the cockpit.

"I know little guy, I'm not your pilot, but he's a little hurt right now. I'm Ahsoka," she greeted the red painted droid, "I'm taking you out today."

"Commander," the crew chief climbed up next to her, for the first time addressing her by the military rank she held, "Here," he handed her a helmet, but it was a bit too large for her, and didn't have the necessary modifications for her race, "Oh…right, sorry we don't have a helmet your size or make."

"That's okay, I just need a comm," she responded, understanding the position he was in, and just peeled out the ear piece so she could communicate with the rest of this squadron.

"This is number nine, checking in," Ahsoka said as she returned a salute from the crew chief who lowered her cockpit for her.

"Commander, welcome to Gremlin Squadron," the squadron commander greeted her, "Your wingman is Gremlin-10, stay on his wing at all times and don't go chasing fighter kills. We're bombers, we leave the droid fighters to the F-Wings and the flak guns. Our job is to focus fire and bring down those cruisers."

"The droids like to fly in front of us and try baiting us to engage and break from our escorts. Y-Wings are a favorite target," the XO added as well, "They know our torpedoes can wreck their motherships."

"You have two warheads Commander, two ion torpedoes, and six armor piercing, we'll make passes and go down the list of who's hitting them with the ion warheads. It only takes four to disable the frigates and destroyers. The rest of the flight will hit with their armor piercing. You need to make sure you don't squeeze off an ion torpedo by mistake, it can disable anything too close to the impact. We also have eight proton bombs each in case we're called on for an air strike on a ground target. But so far the F7's are hogging tank kills. We'll probably end up using them on the dorsal tensor field generators to enemy ships."

"Roger that, let's trash some clankers."

After a few moments the word came, and the reserve squadrons began lifting off and dove down through the belly hangar of the large dreadnought and Ahsoka followed the line right through the opening and into the open air.

"All fighters, form up for a sweep, Y-Wings, prepare for your attack runs. F-Wings, take point," the air controller called out as the red-painted fighters zoomed out from below the Basilisk and into the open air.

"Gremlin Squadron, on me, attack formation," the commander said calmly as the fighters formed up with a whole formation of other squadrons launched from other ships, reserves deployed into the fight.

Ahsoka could see several hundred fighters formed around her and tried to her best to keep formation with her wingman in the four-ship formation on the right edge of the squadron, below the squadron commander. The clouds directly in front of her hid the battle for the most part as the reserve squadrons leveled out and flew over the Basilisk by a thousand feet. Ahsoka could see the HUD markings of friendly and enemy signals through the clouds with red and blue flashing from the other side of the clouds with the occasional flash of orange. Below her she saw for miles and miles the dotting of fires burning from the crashed ships on the ground and the flashes of artillery explosions and the minute traces of blaster fire below the trees as smoke climbed skyward. She'd seen battles before, but none on this scale.

"Gremlins, accelerate to attack speed, here we go."

Ahsoka trained her focus forward, reaching out with her senses, trying to get a sense for what lay ahead. But the mass of life and death was nearly overwhelming, and she stopped actively reaching after a moment. Then they broke through. She could see a mammoth Imperator-Class Star Destroyer even with them facing broadside to them, firing with all its might above and into the side of a descending Providence-Class Carrier/Destroyer. Both ships showed signs of the battle's attrition, but the lighter smaller Providence was the one belching fire and smoke and descending rapidly. Ahsoka banked around, following her squadron as they now entered the battle space. There were fighters everywhere, chasing and firing at one another. Missiles flew all over the place and the smaller more maneuverable escort ships of the Guard poured all the fire they could into the enemy warships from point blank range.

Then a bang to her right caught her attention and she saw a flak burst explode under Gremlin-12's engine. The Y-Wing's right nacelle lost all power and nosed slightly down and then started spinning uncontrollably downwards trailing thick black smoke. The squadron continued on, targeting information passing down quickly as they zeroed in on a lightly damaged Providence-Class ship and followed in behind a squadron of F-Wings. A swarm of Tri-Fighters blaze in past them, firing their weapons at the Y-Wings as they passed and the F-Wings engaged them in turn. The first two Y-Wings then loosed their torpedoes and banked right and began to climb. Ahsoka tapped the control for her normal torpedoes and triggered a volley of two right after she saw the others doing the same and followed the others.

The torpedoes impacted right where their targeting computers said they would, into the open gaping hangar where explosions tore into the vessel's munitions and vehicle packed decks. A trio of Hammerhead Corvettes exploited this opportunity and dove in behind them and fired into the open wound of the ship and other heavier Republic ships did likewise as Ahsoka followed the squadron in on another attack run on the same ship. It was like the dangerous forests of Felucia, the moment blood was spilled the predators pounced and tore apart the wounded animal.

"Break off the big boys have got it," Gremlin-1 called out as they lined up and pulled out of their power dive. They passed above, and Ahsoka rolled slightly to get a look at the point-blank volleys a pair of Split-Bow Heavy Cruisers were putting into the enemy capital ship.

"Evasive action!" someone called out and Ahsoka looked up and saw four Vulture Droids diving on them from straight ahead and she aggressively turned into them and fired.

Other Y-Wings avoided the attack altogether, but two others took to the attack behind her, and their fire struck one of the droids and it tumbled past them as they closed and the fighters got finished off by a roving pair of F-Wings who were chasing them.

"Reform! Make your target the Recusant at 310," the commander called out, and a light destroyer was highlighted on the Y-Wing's HUD.

"This is Gremlin-9, I'm nearby, making an ion torpedo run," she said quickly, "Cover me Gremlin-10."

"Copy that," the wingman responded.

Ahsoka aligned her Y-Wing and saw something just above her, an Arquitens-Class Light Cruiser crossed their path and fired up into a flight of Hyena Bombers that loosed their bombs right into the side of the ship. The handful of warheads explode against the forward hull, eviscerating it and the smoke and fire consumed the whole port side as the corvette began to list to port and the weapons on the ship fell silent. But a CR90 above it fired into the bombers and destroyed the whole group. One however only took a glancing blow and spun down towards the Y-Wings. Ahsoka jerked her craft down and to the left, but Gremlin-10 wasn't fast enough. She watched the Hyena smash into the nose of the Y-Wing and the left engine sheared off causing fire to envelop both as both bombers. The Y-Wing was thrown into an irreversible tailspin, leaving a corkcrew of smoke trailing behind it. Both landed with fiery crashes against the forward hull of a Munificent-Class frigate and slid off in pieces.

"Gremlin-10's down!" Ahsoka cried out.

"Continue on target, Gremlin-11, your shot."

Ahsoka loosed her torpedoes after a second and saw them impact just behind the bridge, disabling several major systems. But she got too close and the second salvo of ion torpedoes struck the ship and the effects caught her Y-Wing right in the area of effect. The systems in the cockpit flickered and struggled to stay alive as the fighter started nosing over. With its rather unflightworthy characteristics without its repulsors and engines the Y-Wing began to tumble, throwing her around inside.

"This Gremlin-9, I'm losing control!" Ahsoka called out quickly.

"You're not gonna get power back in time, bail out Gremlin-9, bail out!" someone's voice ordered her.

"Bail out?!" she said, more to herself, than anything. But then she saw the looming figure of a Venator right below her and she knew she had to follow that advice.

Yanking on the handle at the top of her seat the canopy was blown back and she was launched out of the cockpit. Air greeted her cheeks as she was propelled upwards and then began freefalling. She had a manual control for the parachute set, and freefell down past the swirling battle and down into the clouds. When Ahsoka broke through she could see the wreckage strewn and fire-covered battlefield below. There was a vague line of battle, with blue and red blaster fire criss-crossing the lines. The explosions of artillery and the tracks of missiles fired from gunships and rocket artillery streaked across the lines, hitting what Ahsoka could see were lines of reinforcements, adding more fuel to the fires of the battle. Smoke hung in the air, climbing from the ground in thousands of origin points where fires both large and small burned brightly.

Free falling further and further down she could see that she was at least aiming towards Republic lines near a low series of cliffs that they were battling on. Once to a thousand feet Ahsoka pulled the cord on the parachute and began drifting downwards rapidly. A flight of F7 Dropships flew right beneath her, pummeling a droid formation of tanks advancing up the steep hillside where she saw Republic infantry were holding on by their fingernails. She angled down towards them, knowing she might be able to make a difference there. As she approached she was fired upon by droids, and lit her lightsaber and began deflecting whatever came at her.

The rocky ground met her quite quickly, and Ahsoka used her force-aided agility to bound against the rocks and rolled into cover next to some very surprised Republican Guard troopers. There were three of them: a grenadier, a fireteam leader, and a DLT-18 gunner that were still fighting. She saw their wounded rifleman next to them, helmet off with a bandage wrapped around his eyes. Blood was streaming down his young face and he seemed alarmed, just like the other troopers were.

"The hell? Who are you?!" the corporal in charge demanded.

"I'm Ahsoka Tano," she said quickly as she pulled off her harness and let it drop back against the rocks the troopers were behind.

"You a Jedi?" one of the others asked.

"That's right," she nodded, "Well a Padawan."

"The lieutenant needs to hear this," the corporal responded and then spoke into his comm, which she couldn't hear.

While he was talking Ahsoka could see that the bodies of several dozen troopers were scattered just within sight of this one position. Their green-painted armor made them easily identified amongst the burnt up rocks and trees. And all had the marking of the planet Bestine on their shoulders and the numbered symbol for the 56th Guard Legion. However she was caught by surprise when another soldier, this one an officer, slid into the roughly dug foxhole.

"You the Jedi?" the man said, his tone stressed.

"That's right," Ahsoka nodded, and had to duck as an AAT fired into their position and exploded a tree trunk above them, causing the burnt out tree to keel over downslope, "What's the situation?!"

"We're pinned down here, no armor can make it up the cliff. Not only that I have no way to get my wounded down where they can be medevac'd to a field hospital. We're running low on medical supplies and ammunition and the droids just keep coming."

"I think I can help."

Location: Grievous' Flagship, In Decaying Orbit of Vivyis-12

The ship had gone dark, only a handful of emergency lights lit the halls in a dull red that Obi Wan led the combined force of Anaxes Knights and 212th Attack Battalion Clone Troopers. The Knights and Clones had remained silent apart from the barest tactical communication, sweeping room after room, hall after hall. The group had adopted a formation that made sense.

The Knights, with their shields across their bodies stayed in the lead, and the Clones were behind them with another of the two squads of Knights in the rear, using their shields in the same manner as those in front with the Clones ahead of them. The battleship's main landing bay was the fastest way forward, especially since the Clones had a few life-signs detectors keeping tabs on the slightest signs of life as they progressed further and further.

Among the Knights was the best of their ranks, the Champion of Anaxes, Captain Kayle Titus, his cape's silver crossing swords making him stand out from the others, even the gold-decorated masters' red capes. The twenty Knights were his, and all were hardened warriors, experienced and skilled. All were looking forward to having Grievous' head on the end of their swords.

"So, you've fought Grievous before?" Titus asked as they moved forward. He was next to Obi Wan, who had his lightsaber securely in his hand, ready for immediate use.

"Yes, on a few occasions, we have a history, the good general and I," Obi Wan responded thoughtfully.

"We haven't yet met a worthy opponent," Titus smirked, "Perhaps Grievous won't disappoint us."

"He has defeated Jedi," Cody warned the Anaxes Knight, "It might be more than even all of you can handle."

"We're not Jedi," Titus responded, his intentional poke at the Jedi evident.

"It makes little difference to the General," Obi Wan said and then held a hand up and sensed coming danger. That usually meant droids.

Indeed he was right, the clanking of battle droids sounded out through the hall as he saw a column of B2's marching forward with B1's immediately behind them. There was at least a platoon of them, about fifty in total. Obi Wan raised his lightsaber and ignited it, and the Anaxes Knights drew their repeating pistols and rested them on their shield's little indents to steady their aim. The shield bearing troops lined up into a shield wall and dropped to a knee and the Clones saw their new cover and lined up behind them, and prepared to fire. The droids immediately opened up on the gathering of enemy troops and Kenobi led the charge. Blue and red blaster bolts filled the hall and the B2's leading the pack were cut to pieces within seconds as red bolts smashed into the shields of the Knights facing them. Kenobi reflected the fire back, striking multiple droids with complete ease. Then purple static charges lit up the hall beyond the droid scrap piles. Sixteen Magnaguards came marching into view, and behind them. stalking figure of General Grievous. Holding Bail Organa were two of the droid guards, and Kenobi could immediately tell that Padme was not present.

"Hello there General Kenobi. Come all this way to visit me?" Grievous greeted him.

"Oh I wouldn't call this a social call," Obi Wan responded, "Senator, are you alright?"

"I'm fine Master Jedi," Bail said in response, "Nute Gunray has Padme, you must stop him."

"We have situation well in-hand," Kenobi reassured the Senator, "Now General, shall you surrender, or shall we cut you to pieces?" he said to Grievous, assuming his overhanded fighting stance.

"You couldn't do this before, what makes you think you could do it now?" Grievous laughed, drawing a pair of lightsabers which glowed green and blue in the dim light.

To answer his challenge Captain Titus stood up, and drew his sword which glowed blue along the edges from its rapid vibrating Songsteel blade. He then assumed a fighting position behind his shield, blade in his right hand over the top of his shield and stance crouched. The other twelve Knights came right up next to Kenobi and Titus, drawing their swords and assumed a challenging stance against the cyborg.

"Your reign of terror ends here Grievous," Titus snarled through his helmet speakers.

"You fools, your blades shall adorn my wall," Grievous confidently predicted and started stepping forward.

The Magnaguards charged forward right alongside their leader, and the Knights engaged as well, following right along behind Obi Wan. The Clones, led by Cody, charged forward themselves, with Commander Cody himself making a beeline towards the two Magnaguards pulling at Organa to keep him back. The Magnaguards clashed with the Knights in a swirling series of duels as Grievous launched himself at Obi Wan and smashed his lightsabers into the Jedi's and their personal duel began in classic fashion. The Magnaguards outnumbered the Knights, and two of them began to take to attacking Titus. He spun into the attack, swiping at the one on the right with his shield, and cut low at the second one with a backhand slash with his sword. The droid on the right blocked the strike and as did the second and struck at him with an overhead club and he responded by smacking it with his shield and immediately backhanded the droid's right eyes with his shield. He attacked again with a stab that the droid avoided and then tried clotheslining him by swiping over his sword at his head. But Titus dropped to his knees and slid under the strike.

He had to immediately raise his shield to block a strike from the rear. But he had a surprise for the Magnaguard and sliced up, and sliced off the droid's arm as he propelled himself back into a standing position. With its right side vulnerable Titus slashed clean through its chest and head and blocked a jumping attack from the other droid and stabbed up into the droid's body and ripped his sword out, gutting it from waist to chest.

Cody and several other 212th Troopers avoided the fight, taking potshots as they could, but the movements were so erratic and the Knights and Magnaguards were fighting in such close quarters it was difficult. But the numbers game began turning around. Cody himself blasted a breakaway droid, and blasted its central power node and came face to face with the droids holding Senator Organa.

"Senator, left droid turn away," Cody yelled, and Bail ducked his head, knowing that the shrapnel was going to be rather hot and fast, "Take 'em!"

The Clones fired immediately upon the order, and the droid on the left was eviscerated by the accurate blaster fire and a second volley decimated the second one and Bail was freed from captivity and the Clones rushed to surround him.

"Thank you Commander," Bail responded, "I'm indebted to you."

"Don't thank us yet, there's a lot of ship to get through."

"Look out droids!" one of the troopers called out as a block of battle droids came around the corner, rushing to the aid of their general.

The Clones engaged, and the droids ducked into the wall supports for cover, a rare tendency among droids that only those near a super tactical droid tend to do. But Cody knew not to go slugging it out with a high priority individual to protect. He had to get everyone out of here before the droids began to pick his men off and then the Knights and then his Jedi General.

Obi Wan held his own against Grievous, and soon was joined by several Anaxes Knights, fresh from victory against their Magnaguard opponents. Grievous didn't appreciate this, because the Knights had an advantage with their shields and fighting against such a unique style was something that Grievous wasn't accustomed to. The Knights tended to crowd in, using their shields to blunt his strikes and prevent him from using his superior size and reach to keep them on the defensive. And there were more coming. His guards had incapacitated two of the Knights and five clones, but he was quickly being surrounded by Republic soldiers.

Grievous drew his second pair of sabers, and decided to go more on the offensive, a pair of Knights struck out at him from behind, and he spun onto one clawed hand and grabbed both shields with both clawed feet and wrenched the two Knights into the air as he continued his powerful spin. The two men screamed as their shoulder sockets and bones were effectively torn from their ligaments and were slammed into the wall harshly, sandwiching a pair of clones with them. He slashed with one of his right arms as he returned from his strike and batted a Knight's shield away and then with the other right blade cut cleanly across his chest as he used his other hand to buzzsaw in the face of Titus and blocked a jab from Kenobi directly in front of him. The remaining six Knights began circling, moving back and forth as Grievous prepared for their next move and it came and all of them attacked. Grievous went straight for Kenobi in response, directing one of his blades to attack the Jedi, and the other forward one slashing at Titus and the other two buzzsawed behind him to keep the others back. He struck to the side as the others to the left came at him and he swiped with two arms that swatted the shield of the Knight aside and he cut through the man at arm's length across the neck. But Titus managed get in close and slashed across Grievous' spinning rear arm. Grievous looked back and tried to slash at Titus but another Knight from the other side took his shield and clubbed Grievous across the face as he jumped at the cyborg. Kenobi now sliced through another one of Grievous' arms at the elbow and Grievous kicked the other two Knights aside and Obi Wan raised a hand and shoved him back as he was about to kill Titus.

Grievous was sent flying backwards and skidded along until he was by the droids that had arrived on the scene and were pinning down the clones. He growled indignantly, but Cody had a last parting gift, he aimed and fired a single blaster shot that caught Grievous right in his hardened face plate getting a pained cry from the cyborg just as the blast door closed and sealed itself, preventing the Republic troops from giving chase.

"Did you get him?!" Titus called out, having seen the shot.

"His face plate is blaster proof, but he is undoubtedly crippled," Obi Wan responded quickly, and looked to the dead Knights around them, "I'm sorry about your men captain."

"And I for yours," Titus nodded, kneeling down next to one of his fallen comrades and the other Knights went over, holding the tips of their swords down, just touching the deck, and took off their helmets, "Your families shall take your blood to the Hall of Heroes brothers, to join those who have fallen before us."

The swords of the fallen four dead Knights were gathered along with their shields, and the others hoisted the fallen onto their shoulders. Their bodies would be ejected into space as with any other soldier or crewmen who died in space combat. But their swords and shields would be returned home, for their sons or younger brothers to inherit.

"Sir," Cody softly asked as they began to walk back, "What did he mean by return their blood?"

"When a soldier of Anaxes leaves the planet they hold a ceremony, at that ceremony on the parade grounds of Pols Anaxes the soldiers extract a bit of blood into a vial and release it. That vial floats back to a receiver held by their family members in the stands. If they fail to return their family takes that vial and places it in a mausoleum in the capital, where the blood of every fallen soldier of Anaxes has been placed since before the formation of the Republic," Obi Wan educate his Clone troops, "Their culture is one of tradition and honor going back thousands of years. Many of the swords there probably can be traced back to battles where they clashed with Sith lightsabers."

"Some of their weapons are thousands of years old?" Bail asked.

"Only mine," Titus replied, tapping his silver-hilted sword, "The Sword of the Champion. Now Senator, let's get you home."

Location: Opposite Hangar of Grievous' Stricken Flagship

"Quickly Viceroy, we must leave," one of the large Neimodian guards commanded loudly, his ceremonial blaster rifle aimed from the hip as the entourage continued moving towards the shuttle bay in the pitch black.

They had their flashlights shining around them. Their progress had been held up by the incredibly forceful and persistent Padme, who had absolutely no intention of being taken by Gunray. She'd avoided his clutches thus far in this war and was intent on keeping it that way. The battle was proving to be a decisive victory for the Republic and she wanted to keep it that way by making sure she was here to be rescued. The young Senator just had a feeling that rescue was near.

"The shuttle, we're almost…" the lead guards said as the group rushed into the secondary hangar facing into the ring interior of the battleship.

"What? What is it?" Gunray demanded as he pushed his way past his armored guards. But he had wished he hadn't.

Standing there was a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker. The shuttle was completely destroyed, lightsaber strokes had eviscerated it and the two pilots and droid guards were equally neutralized, scattered on the ground in pieces, smoke wisps rising from the blaster holes and lightsaber cuts. The guards raised their blasters towards Anakin, but the Jedi didn't move, and then from the dark came the blue glowing red laser pointers of the Caridan Commandoes that had accompanied the strike force. The numerous lines ended upon each and every Neimodian guard, and the Neimodians took note of this and turned to leave in a panic but a figure blocked their path as Captain Rex stood in the doorway behind them, holding both blaster pistols aimed squarely at Nute Gunray. Other 506th troopers rushed from the shadows, aiming their own lasers at their foes.

The Neimodians had their backs turned on Anakin and when they turned back he was less than ten feet away, and lit his lightsaber, revealing a very unhappy expression. The man stalked forward, and the Neimodians one by one threw down their weapons and held their hands up and backed away, clearing the way for Anakin who was walking towards Gunray. The guard holding her let go and threw away his weapon, and Gunray was left stammering and whimpering as his guards' will broke completely at the threat of the Jedi.

"Get this slime out of my sight," Anakin ordered, and several Clones rushed forward wrenched Gunray's hands behind his back.

Other guards were cuffed roughly by the Caridans and the Clones, and lined up casually as Anakin turned off his saber. The Clones turned on their flashlights, and Caridans continued to keep security as the mission seemed to have ended.

"Mission accomplished General," Rex said to Anakin.

"Well done Rex, nice call with the intimidation," Anakin nodded to his captain.

"Know your enemy sir, put the same circumstance most anyone with a head on their shoulders would do the same thing," Rex shrugged.

"Hallway clear, bring 'em," the captain of the Caridans called out.

"You okay?" Anakin asked Padme as a trooper undid her cuffs.

"What took you so long?" Padme smiled.

"Hey, we had a whole fleet to get away from you," Anakin scoffed.

"And so you brought in another?" Padme smirked, pointing at the three Revenge-Class Heavy Carriers that were visible through the hangar ray shields.

"That I didn't expect," Anakin replied, looking at the intimidating warships, each of which was as long as the battleship that they now stood in, "But I'm glad they came. Master, how are things on your end?"

"We have Senator Organa, and Grievous has been badly damaged. We've taken some losses but we're alright," Obi Wan responded.

Anakin saw a silver starfighter, the same type he'd chased at Bothawui, zip away from the battleship over them. He growled in frustration at Grievous' escape.

"Grievous just made his getaway," Anakin sighed, "And the battle below?"

"The Admiral just informed me that the remainder of the Separatist fleet is in full retreat. But they have a massive droid army on the ground that their ground troops are heavily engaged with," Obi Wan responded, "Ahsoka was also allowed to take a spare starfighter to help in the battle but reports are saying she had to bail out over the battlefield."

"Rex, get the Senator to the nearest Republic ship, the rest of you with me, we're going after Ahsoka," Anakin quickly ordered, "Sorry Senator, I have to go get my Padawan."

"It was good seeing you Master Jedi, as always," Padme smiled, knowing Anakin wasn't coming back until Ahsoka was safe.

Location: 56th Guards Legion Frontline, Vivyis-12

Ahsoka had been taken straight to the casualty collection point. Here, the battalion's wounded were laid below the cover of the rocks, but mortars and artillery still threw a few pieces of debris back at them and there were always more and more coming. The groans and cries and screams of the wounded were intense. Cody and Rex had been telling the truth. Thankfully many had kept their helmets on, and so she wasn't looking directly at their faces, but she could sense the pain, the fear, and the death surrounding her. It was like the battles she'd fought before, but more intense, more panicked. After all, these weren't Clones.

"Jedi, if you can get our wounded down this cliff we might save our men, we won't fall back off the hill with them still here," the lieutenant explained as he got her to the cliff-side were there were numerous Guard infantry scrambling up ladders to get to the clifftop and join the battle.

"I'll take care of it," Ahsoka nodded, and could see the wreckage of a piece of hull plate a bit away and that gave her an idea.

The lieutenant took off with her assurance that she would help. She rushed over to the plate, and saw it was large enough to hold four men and was thin, meaning it wasn't too heavy. She flipped over, and called over to the medics, "Get your wounded on, I'll lower them to the bottom," she yelled over, waving them to start bringing in the wounded.

The medics were quick to respond and started carrying wounded troopers over to her and packed them in. With her first batch Ahsoka stood tall, and lifted the plate up and lowered over the side, much to worry of one of the more aware wounded on it. But it was only a thirty foot drop at most, and she was able to get them down to a waiting pair of medics who pulled the men off and Ahsoka retrieved her new makeshift platform. Another four were placed on the platform as a shell landed perilously close. But she sensed something growing from the wounded behind her. She turned around and all of them were staring at her through amazed eyes or emotionless visors. It was a feeling of hope, that here, in the midst of battle was someone here to save them.

Ahsoka was intent on seeing this belief through, and lowered the next four wounded, and repeated the process once, twice, four, and then ten more times. Throughout it all the firefight beyond continued in its intensity as more troops summited the cliff, and she just kept on going, lowering more wounded with every passing minute. Her levels of exhaustion were being reached, but she couldn't stop, there were still dozens of men and women counting on her. The young Jedi wasn't going to stop, she dug deep, and kept lowering the wounded. That's when a series of massive explosions behind her and down the hill shook the very ground and threw her down. Blue light seemed to come from the heavens and the troops around her cheered wildly. A shadow descended over the battlefield, the Basilisk herself had come to hover over the lines, firing its main turbolaser batteries at point-blank-range into the droid lines, stymying the attack. A flight of F7 assault dropships came soaring down, and the hatches opened and she saw a familiar face inside the troop bay.

"I see you couldn't stay away," Anakin called out as medivac F7's now arrived on the scene.

She smiled and gave a half-hearted salute as his dropship came down to pick her up. Behind her, she saw that the troops all around the hill stood by the dozens and into the hundreds. They were looking to her, she'd saved dozens of their comrades, and for that they all began to raise their right arms in a salute as she watched. Many of the wounded below along with other troops down there also saluted that she saw as she turned and returned the salute and stepped aboard. Ahsoka had made an impact, one that was felt within the very heart of the Guard.

 **Well, it's been a while since I have updated, but that's what school does for you. I'm glad I got this one done, one of my favorites thus far. And I hope I can continue doing what I enjoy for you guys. So, until next time.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The Separatists strike back.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Location: Hyperspace, CPF Battleship _Indomitable Regency_

In the rather open interior of their barracks the soldiers of the 15th Patriot Division's 44th Regiment the atmosphere was electric. The mostly Serenno-native unit was ready for their baptism by fire. The mostly human force had numerous alien faces, but the vast majority were in fact human. Many of the less numerous alien member races of the Confederacy were fairly hesitant about committing their own defense forces when Republic offensives drew closer and closer to their home space. But for many, it didn't matter, their mission was to win, not be sensitive to others. Plus, much of their equipment was meant for human or humanoid soldiers. And there were plenty of Near-Humans in the unit, mostly Fondorians who'd managed to smuggle themselves at their own expense through to their own lines.

The ship, the _Indomitable Regency_ , a _Lucrehulk_ -Class Battleship, was actually mostly crewed by Aqualish, and had an Aqualish captain. This ship was amongst nine other battleships, and each battleship had its standard four Type-1 Star Destroyers, eight Type-2 Cruisers, and twelve Type-3 Escort Cruisers along with the large formations of twenty Type-4 Automated Frigates and thirty-two Type-5 Automated Gunships. In total, seven hundred and seventy one of their warships were on their way to return Confederate strategic momentum.

However, morale was low, the great general of the CIS, General Grievous, with over a thousand ships, had gotten beaten, losing a thousand ships, including forty _Lucrehulk_ 's. The images of destroyed hulks of Separatist warships and piles and piles of battle droids with Republican Guard troops posing and cheering on top of destroyed vehicles were being streamed across the Holonet. The troops of Company B of the 2nd Battalion were currently crowded around the main screen in the back of the barracks, watching this somberly.

"With this victory, Republican Guard forces have, as the Republic Armed Forces have claimed, destroyed the Separatist strategic reserve in the sector," the voice Erik Syno said, a voice that was quickly known as the voice of the Guard.

"Bloody hell, look at that," one of the men said.

"They creamed 'em, a whole fleet, led by Grievous no less, how're we gonna stop that?"

"Don't believe that propaganda," one of the younger soldiers chided the man who had voiced his displeasure.

"Look at that, it's right in front of you!"

"Ten-hut!" the company sergeant major called out loudly in the characteristic Serenno accent.

The numerous troops rushed to stand to attention in the aisle that divided the ranks of bunks.

"At ease gents," their company commander said as he walked in, "I think we all know what's happening out there right now. The Republic managed to beat the tar out Grievous. These are dark days, and the cause needs every man and woman to face these times with all the strength in their souls as we take the fight to the Republic and its means of oppression. We strike the planet Phindar and we will liberate it and the people on it. After that, we will drive down the Parmellian Trade Route, straight to the Core! The rest of the Confederacy is depending on us."

The soldiers all looked around, rather surprised by such a determined and powerful statement. After such a powerful message like the one that the Republic had delivered the soldiers of the Confederacy were in need of a victory. Their belief in their ability to win had been in doubt ever since the news had broken and they had been sent on this mission. But now, there was no more room for doubt as the fleet and the army within was propelling itself towards battle. They had no choice but to perform or fail, and failure meant certain doom.

"All hands, battlestations," the signal came for the men in the barracks to prepare for combat.

"This is it, gear up, gentlemen," the officer said with a refined calmness that belayed the chaos going on in the minds of the men around him. It was this type of level-headedness that was key to maintaining discipline among his untrained and rather shaken troops.

The fleet was almost to its destination, and aboard the bridge of the flagship, a massive _Ultrahulk_ -Class Super-Battleship, the _Patriot's Resolve_ , was Admiral Korra Der. She sat in her command chair with her two rows of control stations manned and ready. It would be the first time since she'd nearly lost her life at the hands of the Republic Volunteer Corps at Harrin and lost more than four hundred ships. They were now ready to show the Republic that they weren't going to throw in the towel.

"All sections are at battlestations, all fighters ready to deploy, as are the transports," the ship's captain told her.

"Good, once the Republic fleet is out of the way we'll hit the surface with airstrikes and then hit isolate each of garrison," Der ordered, "The Clones will be the main target, then we'll push on down coreward."

"But if we hit hard enough they'll surrender," another one of her officers replied.

"Shock and awe," her executive officer responded, "I've got an idea for it."

"No orbital bombardments Commander Berro. You'll only end up pissing off the locals and inflaming resistance," Der told the Aqualish commander.

"Or not," the individual replied, "I've seen a people force their government to surrender after a few shots into a crowded city."

"You give that order that and it'll be your last order as an officer in the Patriot Forces."

"Yes Admiral," the old Aqualish responded, "We can simply utilize our numbers of starfighters for intimidation."

"We have thousands of them for a reason," she responded, and then the fleet started to countdown, and she saw the ship dropping from hyperspace.

The fleet came out of hyperspace before a fleet of fifteen _Venator_ -Class Star Destroyers and eight _Acclamator_ -Class Assault Ships. Six _Arquitens_ -Class Light Cruisers and eighteen _Consular_ -Class Cruisers were moving about, previously on patrol around the busy shipping lanes and numerous stations and skyhooks that were the method in which the merchants and traders moved their cargo that wasn't bound for the surface. The lines of freighters and scattered passenger ships and personal ships were now scattering, frightened by the hundreds of Separatist ships now arriving.

"Put me through on an open channel, launch all fighters and assume offensive formation. Fighters to take formations to protect the gunships and frigates," Admiral Der said, turning to face the visual communication screens, "Let's see if we can't make their job harder."

"Send the civilian ships scattering, preventing them from forming up and establishing a line," Commander Berro nodded, "Well played."

"You're on ma'am," the Duro female called out once the message was ready.

"This is Fleet Admiral Der of the Confederacy of Independent Systems Patriot Forces. As of this moment you now reside in Confederate space. All Republic forces are demanded to vacate this space or surrender. Failure to do either will result in your destruction," Der threatened them.

"No response from the Republic fleet," the comms officer replied.

"Republic ships are trying to fall back to make the jump out," the sensor operator piped up, and Der looked to see the Republic ships starting to back off.

"All ships engage. Let's deal with them."

Around the main flagship several hundred Type-4 Gunships thrust forward, their nose-mounted proton cannons ready along with the numerous squadrons of Scarab-II Starfighters pushing towards the Clone fleet. The ships all opened fire once they came in range, and the gunships and fighters started taking hits. But the gunship fired once and then pulled away, firing in volleys as each formation took a shot. A _Venator_ took numerous hits as its fighters tried engaging the swarms of fighters, but it was obliterated by the cannons punching through its dorsal hangar doors and exploding its munitions and fuel stores. Hull plates bowed and bent as it tore itself apart. Another _Venator_ was struck, and its reactor was hit, and the explosion tore the ship in half and the bow section fractured as more explosions from its shipboard munitions going off. The Scarabs swarmed and the Republic fleet knew the danger of the gunships, and focused fire. The third wave took shots, and more than a few exploded as their fragile hulls were struck by heavy turbolaser fire. V-19 Torrents and Z-95 Clone Headhunters took on the slower Scarabs. Y-Wings were more than overwhelmed by the swarms of defense fighters and couldn't even get close.

"The Republic fleet's pulling back," a sensor operator stated.

"Keep up the fire, destroy the transports and the Star Destroyers, we have a golden opportunity to destroy an enemy fleet and an elite corps," Der said with a grin, "We need this victory."

"I'll have our forces sent to the surface," a deep voice to the right said calmly, and she looked to see Ronan the Wild, the Hero of Tion and leader of her elite shock troops, the Warriors of the Tion.

"Go, limit collateral damage," she said with a nod.

The armored man smirked and shook his head, "I'll resist the urge."

"That is an order, General. This is key to capturing the planet we can use the people's aid to seize the planet."

"Very well," Ronan replied and stood to his feet and turned to leave, "We'll have the capital claimed by tomorrow. Prepare to land!"

Der turned her attention back to the fight, the Clone ships were pulling away, five of their _Venator_ 's were destroyed. The other seven were disabled, and she saw the blinking lights of escape pods and gunships evacuating the ships as the Republic fighters continued to cover them. Most of the _Acclamator_ 's were jumping, but six were already destroyed and all of the lighter ships were falling back, jumping into hyperspace one by one. Her fleet was proving itself, even without her big ships engaging.

She watched from the bridge as swarms of C-9979's flowed from the fleet, forming into waves. Most were filled with droids, but they had volunteer troops within their hulls. It was time to take this planet and take the fight to the Republic for a change. She had troops from all over assembled in this fleet, and was going to use them. But she also knew that the Republican Guard might be coming for her fleet. They would be ready though, she knew him too well.

Location: Vivyis-12, Dreadnought _Basilisk_

"We have a problem Admiral," Lieutenant Commander Wain Kuat said as he walked into the CIC, "Columex is under attack from a major Separatist fleet. Over seven hundred ships are confirmed, including a massive variant on Federation Battleships."

"Show me," Grand Admiral Drexel ordered and Wain tapped a few controls.

"General Ki Adi Mundi and a small element of the Galactic Marines were there acting as a holding force. So far the entire force is stranded on the surface. We lost fifteen Venators and eight Acclamators. Casualties were severe," Kuat said calmly, "The forces we're seeing there have a major fleet of Kuat-designed warships, pocket-type Star Destroyers, thirty-six of them and nine Lucrehulks."

"We can't take them on without refitting and rearming, we'd have to fight our way there through the CIS's reinforcements. We lost a lot of ships and there's another Separatist fleet moving into place to fill the void Grievous' forces left when they launched their offensive," Drexel responded, "What do we know about this force?"

"Confederate Patriot Forces, a mashup of volunteer and droid forces. They're using ships that are unique to their formations and are thus far proving the model to be working. Fleet Admiral Korra Der commands the fleet. This is the same Der that we beat at Harrin when we destroyed the 19th Task Group. The Separatists apparently felt that she was the ideal candidate, she graduated from the Anaxes War College two years before the war began, studied in several of your own courses."

"She's earned her keep, she's created a force that can alter the balance of power in the war. Take notes ladies and gentlemen this is our new rival. In the meantime, we need to recoup our losses and prepare for operations to rescue Master Mundi and his troops. The people will sooner turn on his army and the Clones with them than see their cities be leveled in the fighting."

"We lost a dozen star destroyers sir and most of the rest are damaged to some extent," his chief of staff reported, "And even more corvettes and cruisers were also lost and we're still counting the dead from our ground troops and crews. We can't launch another major offensive . Grievous may have failed to destroy us, but he did force us out of action for some time at the cost of an entire fleet."

"The Separatists are on the backfoot. Der's forces wouldn't have been deployed otherwise. It can't be coincidence that we crush Grievous then her fleet goes on the attack," Wain offered, slightly out of line.

"They're responding with force, they're not desperate Commander. Phindar is a crucial juncture that will connect two of the Separatists' major territorial enclaves. Losing it won't necessarily hamper us, but it will sure help them," Captain App responded testily.

"Do we know where the enemy's reinforcement fleet came from?" Drexel asked.

"Here sir, their major massing point in the far outer rim."

"Then their fleet's probably running on fumes. That many battleships and cruisers can't refuel from a fleet tender. The closest enemy fuel depot to here is, Centares. That's where we'll catch this enemy fleet moving to stop us and crush it, and maybe we'll force Der's hand and make her come at us on our terms."

"What if she pushed on past us, moves towards Columex and then down the Parmellian to the Core?"

"I'm counting on it. Der's command structure is demanding swift movement of the fighting away from Confederate space, she'll press on, taking the offensive coreward away from the enemy's primary power centers. Then we'll meet her here, at Tanaab, let them bypass Lantilles by keeping its Clone forces beneath its double layered planetary shields and then close her lane of retreat behind her. Bring in Clone forces from the Core as we attack her from in front and trap them in the kind of maelstrom for which they aren't prepared," Drexel told them and then with a cold threat he finished his prediction, "If Der wants to venture into the realm of the dreadnoughts let her."

Location: 3rd Guard Legion Landing Site, Vivyis-12

The Acclamator they'd come in on had taken some hits, but the ship was still intact and the crew had gotten her back into condition to transport the 3rd offworld. Wyatt had learned that the legion had suffered over four thousand casualties. The legion was down by 25% of its 15,000 troopers.

His own company was almost entirely wiped out, his platoon had suffered almost seventy-five percent casualties with nineteen killed and ten wounded. All they had left was a shadow of their former platoon: seven troopers was all that remained. Wyatt himself was the only member of his squad to make it out of the fighting unscathed. The others that weren't killed or wounded were Lieutenant Yuno, the platoon medic, a squad leader from 1st Squad and two of his men and a greenhorn who'd been a replacement PV2 when she'd arrived in the weapons squad. Their platoon was obviously the worst hit, but would end up having seven of their wounded returned within a few days taking them back up to fourteen troopers. It still hurt, they'd suffered casualties on Commenor, and hadn't gotten any replacements before being thrust into battle on Harrin.

But Eva would be back, as would Hal and Kyly. Kyly's eyes managed to be saved thanks to the platoon medic and their squad medic who was actually working on his squadmates while barely being able to walk on a broken leg and a shredded foot. Hal and Eva's armor had taken the majority of the blaster bolts that had struck them and the wounds were being healed now via bacta patches. Wyatt sat in the barracks that was now far more empty than he was comfortable seeing it. The gear of those who had been in the bunks around him that weren't going to return was already gone along with the digital nametags on the bunks. It had been a rough couple days for the 3rd Guards Legion. But he was in for a complete shock when he walked over to the Holonet News broadcast being shown in the back of the barracks. The news was ringing with the tales of the legion's heroism, they'd had to bear the brunt of the droid offensive and they hadn't cracked.

"With the tally now complete and reports now firmed up for the battle on Vivyis-12 it seems that the most ferocious fighting took place in the forests of the northern hemisphere where the 3rd Guards Legion is confirmed to have taken on and destroyed two entire Separatist droid corps. Over three hundred battle droids and their vehicles are confirmed to have been destroyed by this all-Tanaab volunteer outfit. This is the same unit that spearheaded the Republic Volunteer Corps initial heavy combat action against the Separatists on Harrin destroying several combined droid divisions there. Military analysts are stating this to be the legion that refuses to break."

This didn't get the usual smirks and confident agreement from the few troopers watching the feed. Instead a staff sergeant reached up and turned off the holonet projector.

"Get some sleep guys," he said after locking his blaster into the rack next to the projector.

Everyone was still wearing their armor, which was colored in a mixture of burns, camouflage paint, dirt, and blood. Their helmets rested on the tables and on their bunks, and everyone started stripping off their armored pieces and Wyatt was about to do the same when he saw Lieutenant Yuno walk in, and looked him right in the eye. Wyatt knew that this meant he was wanted.

"Corporal, need to talk to you," the officer said beckoning him over as he held a datapad.

"Yes sir," Wyatt sighed and walked over, grabbing his helmet when he saw Lieutenant Yuno step out of the barracks into the hall, and he followed with the helmet held under his arm, "You wanted to speak to me sir."

"Yes Corporal, I just read over the report from analysis of your and Private Quartin's helmet cameras and it seems you two have made some waves. Both the good kind and the bad kind."

"Striking that officer sir?" Wyatt winced.

"Yeah, his jaw's broken in three places, and on top of that he's the son of a wealthy Commenor politician," Yuno explained, and turned to face Wyatt, "He wanted you in cuffs. But when the admiralty confronted him with the fact he friendly-fired Quartin he backed off. The general himself wanted to be sure this message reached you: If you strike another officer you will be court martialed."

"Yes sir," Wyatt nodded, relieved, but greatly worried as any soldier would be when the word court martial was used in a sentence directed towards them.

"But, you two are also up for a Golden Medal of Courage. It's not everyday two troopers bring down over fifty droids by themselves and summit the tower of a crashed Star Destroyer to destroy another thirty and save numerous Republic personnel and classified data," Yuno added. He was finishing with the good part, "Nice job on that, but, as part of the deal to keep you from losing the medal and keep that ensign's father quiet you won't be getting that third chevron today. Even as much as I need good NCO's."

"I understand sir, and uh…when will we know who'll be returning to the platoon from medical?" Wyatt asked.

"Well, your fireteam managed to get lucky enough to return to full strength, even though you were the only one unscathed," Yuno told him, "As for when, probably in the next day or so we'll be getting our numbers back up."

"Thank you sir," Wyatt said, and Yuno nodded in return.

"You're doing a good job Corporal, so far you're in the running for the most decorated enlisted man in the Legion. Keep it up," the officer said before leaving.

"Yes sir," Wyatt said, snapping off a salute and dropping it. Now he felt truly tired, and his bunk was calling his name.

Location: Orbit over Centares, Separatist Fleet Fuel Depot

"Good to be back in the pilot's seat, can't have my record broken by you jokers," Captain Teela Abya said with a smile as she prepped for another engagement.

"It's nice to have you back too," her squadron commander smirked as they prepared to drop from hyperspace.

"You good?" Dev asked.

"Always, bacta's a wonder worker," she replied, feeling the slightly sore leg that had taken a hit during her rather trying time on Vivyis-12.

The F-Wings then dropped out hyperspace alongside numerous other squadrons. Teela accelerated the fighter forward, taking lead in her flight of four alongside two new fliers who'd arrived shortly before Vivyis-12 and had mounted six and seven kills. The two guys were green, but showed promise like any other Corellian behind the stick. Around the squadron Y-Wings and other F-Wings dropped out of hyperspace, bee-lining it towards the assorted lines of Separatist warships awaiting fuel. Their objective here was simple, blow the massive fuel tanks and pumping stations that kept the Separatist fleet supplied in the immediate region. It wouldn't be all too hard, there were nearly four hundred Y-Wings bearing down on these ships and their vulnerable fuel stations and close to eight hundred F-Wings escorted them.

Many of these squadrons were fresh arrivals from the Revenge-Class Heavy Carriers that now formed themselves Heavy Carrier Groups with three Task Forces in escort. These six new organizational units were subordinate to a Praetor-Class Battlecruiser, with two Revenges per battlecruiser and an immediate Battlecruiser Group of four Task Forces around that individual ship, amounting to ten Task Forces each. Reinforcements had finally arrived after Guard reserves had been brought forward, bolstering the fleet to thirty-five Task Forces in total at the front. This meant that the Basilisk herself also had an escort fleet of five Task Forces, which according to their briefing was to be standard. Eva now realized she was part of the 1st Guard Fleet, which was centered on the Basilisk, and had a standard organization of one Battlecruiser Group and two Heavy Carrier Groups under its command, fifteen Task Forces in total. Two more dreadnoughts were able to have fleets built around them using the ships at the Guard's disposal, and rumor had it that they had enough recruits to fill out the entirety of seven fleets, one for each of the Mandator-I Class Dreadnoughts.

Still, despite the massing of so many heavy warships the starfighters were the principle long-range striking arm of the Republican Guard and were being used as such today. Teela appreciated this immensely, seeing as she had ground to make up after having missed the largest space battle to have yet occurred in the Clone Wars. The all-red fighters around her she could tell were itching to mark up their kill counts to catch her, seeing as the margin was greatly reduced between her and the other fighter jocks after Vivyis-12. She scanned for fighters and locked onto a flight of four Vulture Droids peeling away from their patrol pattern towards the glittering storm of Republic starfighters. She clicked off four of her eight missiles, and forgot to call out the launch.

"Silver-8 your status as a former hostage doesn't excuse breaking protocol!" her squadron commander barked in her ear after the missiles were away and striking their targets.

"Sorry Silver Leader, won't happen again."

"Good, because here they come!"

A swarm of Vulture Droids and Tri-Fighters poured from the hangars of over thirty Separatist ships she could see before them. The F-Wings parted ranks to prepare for maneuvers and the Y-Wings started to fire their long-range torpedoes at the fuel depots. The fuel depot stations were built like lines with bulbous spherical tanks lined up going up and down on top of one another on a central node with spars jutting out holding fuel pumps and lines and nozzles for each type of major Separatist ship that used their fuel. These stations were quite large, being two thousand meters tall and holding six columns of forty bulbous tanks of fuel stacked on top of one another with a bottom receptacle where fuel tankers could deposit replacement fuel stores. The fueling stations for the warships spiraled upwards so that lines of ships didn't interfere with one another's flight paths. And the best part was that there were four of these large stations just sitting there in orbit, and many thirsty warships were there to fill their tanks.

"Break and engage, protect the bombers," Teela ordered her flight, "Target Tri-Fighters, they're the ones that'll go for the Y-Wings."

"Roger that Silver-8," Silver-10 responded.

Teela banked hard, laying into the trigger and sending laser fire into the droids that came at her. She saw her kill counter on her HUD blink three more times as the fighter formations closed and passed, meaning three more kills. It wasn't hard to miss when the droids came at them like big blobs. Her twin wing-tip cannons kept firing as the swarms intermingled and she deftly pulled hard and broke right, trying to anticipate the Tri-Fighters that would inevitably avoid the F-Wings by banking to fly around and get to an intercept course for the Y-Wings she now saw loosing their single Seismic Charge torpedoes. Indeed she did get a good look at squadron of the fighters going after the Republic bombers, and gave immediate chase.

"Dev hit those bastards!" she ordered, locking on with concussion missiles, and fired her remaining four weapons.

Dev followed with another four, and missiles tracked into their targets and smashed six droid starfighters, four missiles had struck two fighters, meaning six of the nimble dangerous enemy fighters remained. She closed the distance, and saw four Y-Wings take fire and explode as the formation of three squadrons got passed through by the droids that the two F-Wings were pursuing. She fired a long burst, pitching and yawing her fighter to scatter her laser fire to cast a wide net to hit as many as she could, and she saw two of the fighters succumb to both her and Dev's fire. Her counter didn't register the kills, they belonged to Dev. The remaining four fighters broke off, swinging back and passed through the two of them in a lightning quick maneuver that would have killed biological pilots with sheer inertia. They fired as they parted the two F-Wings, but missed and Teela managed to pop another one, having not ceased firing at them as they had turned and came at the two of them head-on.

"Man I hate those things!" Dev growled as he turned alongside Teela's F-Wing and pursued, and fortunately he had the missiles to fire into the enemy fighters, and downed all three with a three-missile salvo.

A massive burst of flame and debris nearly blinded Teela at this point as one of the fueling stations exploded, sending huge balls of flame and singed wreckage in all directions. Droid warships fractured under the sheer force and the heat alone dealt massive amounts of damage to nearby ships and fighters. A chain reaction occurred as two more stations detonated, having been struck and compromised by the immense and powerful field of wreckage striking their fragile structures. The last one exploded shortly after as Teela watched and smirked in satisfaction. The Guard had done good work today. Once again the swarm tactics done their job.

"All fighters break off and head for the surface, we've got work to do there," the comms alerted her, and then she saw a swarm of new contacts appear on her sensors.

"What the…" she murmured, and spun her fighter to get a look, and saw an entire fleet of warships entirely new to her, mostly painted blue, but they looked far more meaty and substantial than their previous opponents. Some even looked like Star Destroyers, and there were ten battleships in their formation along with a much more massive version of a battleship. In total she was looking at well over seven hundred ships, "What the kriff are they?!"

"No idea! All fighters jump right now!" Silver Leader ordered.

The Republic formation poured into a full-blown retreat, choosing to return to their ships rather than target the support facilities on the planet. For the first time they had now for the first time been forced to give up on a mission.

"So, anyone going to ask who the kriff those guys were?" someone asked as the fighters were in hyperspace.

"I've heard of a new Separatist fleet forming, made up of volunteers, didn't think they had kriffing star destroyers!" the squadron commander replied.

"Those were no star destroyers!"

"Doesn't matter, they're close enough, dagger profiles, large, and probably armored," Teela sighed.

"Can't wait for the old man to let us show them who the real soldiers are," someone else in the squadron added.

"I'll be the first to sign up for that mission," Teela smirked proudly.

Location: Planet Phindar, Clone Positions

On the grassy knoll Ki Adi Mundi surveyed the area. His fleet had been badly mauled, and he'd ordered most of it to retreat and those who had not been able to had dropped to the planet in whatever gunships, shuttles, and escape pods that could have made it. They'd landed on an island on purpose, it was just large enough for his four thousand men to hold. The Clones were easy to order to dig in, once they started they did not stop until the job was done. Their armor was well-suited to the incredibly uncomfortable tropical humid climate. As Galactic Marines were known for and at Mundi's insistence they also had improved armor, most visible in their helmets' bulkier appearance.

Along with their weapons they barely had time to scrounge for supplies, the escape pods managed to provide some emergency rations and some ammunition. However they were not going to be able to last for very long. Their medical supplies were basic at best, not even present at worst. But the Clones were soldiers, excellent one. They were consolidating, digging into the waist-high grass coating hills in the center of the island with forest protecting them from above with the truly thick jungle being the best place to defend. Trenches and bunkers were coating the area with deadly fields of fire, and Mundi was just waiting, scanning everything in front of him to see when the droids would come.

Their headquarters was established, a bunker had been dug into the ground on the highest point with views in all directions from multiple pillboxes dug into the ground, reinforced with logs and parts from their shuttles and gunships. Camouflage had completely covered it, and he even had a table that a resourceful clone had made and then taken a holographic projector that projected onto it whatever was needed from the mobile command consoles they'd brought along. This was in the main command center with the comms equipment needed to coordinate their defense, underneath a pair of LAAT/i wings that formed the floor of the main level. The laser cannons were being utilized from their LAAT/i's by being buried and their cockpit sections were facing critical areas of fire. Their ball turrets and missile launchers were also able to be used, pointing up and linked to the ground with heavy parts of their hulls. It was a strong enough defense for the purpose of holding out, but they wouldn't last very long without help.

"Sir, we have reports of seaspray approaching the island from the north," Commander Bacara informed Mundi as he looked around.

"Very well, prepare to open fire, let's get as many of them as we can before they reach the shore," Mundi ordered.

As he expected to happen the sounded of concussion missiles were fired. The white trails of the missiles flew out, and he could hear the explosions from afar. There wasn't much that he could do from here though, and like any Jedi he felt a need to go to the front and aid his troops.

"I'm going to the beach to help," Mundi told his staff.

"Understood sir," Commander Bacara nodded in reply, watching the dots of MTT's and AAT's moving over the water towards them. The missiles picked them off every so often, but it was slow and inefficient.

"There's no way we can take them all," the Clone Commander said as he looked at the projection.

"We've got enough good positions to make 'em pay sir," a lieutenant responded, putting on a brave face.

"Incoming from above sir!" one of the other Clones called out. Above the island a rapidly descending group of formations of small objects was coming for them.

"Fighters?"

"No sir, too small, never seen 'em before," the man said quickly.

"Redirect fire!"

Outside Mundi heard the sonic booms, and then looked out to see several pods slamming into the ground in the field outside the headquarters. From the twelve pods that hit four men jumped out and he recognized them. A silver-helmeted group of Nimbus Commandoes was now engaging with his men, wielding A280's, a deadly weapon that Mundi was familiar with, the Republican Guard used it. He wasn't surprised at its use by their enemies, their armor piercing abilities were renowned, and his men wore armor.

"Target the pods! Target the pods!" Mundi said as he lit his lightsaber, and this got the attention of the Nimbus Commandoes, all wearing their usual semi-loose uniforms, recolored into a more practical olive color but their helmets were still the same.

Red blaster bolts poured from the rapidly advancing men, one in four of which were using a new weapon, one that was not used by anyone but the CIS Patriot Forces, the T-20 Light Repeating Blaster. This weapon was rapid firing, and could sustain that fire due to its large barrel that regulated the temperature far better than the Republic's own designs. The lines of laser fire lanced back and forth, and Mundi was forced to take cover as the Clones around him rushed to engage. A few of the Nimbus took shots to the chest and dropped, and a similar number of Clones were hit and downed.

"Sir, the beach, they're being overwhelmed," the comms called out.

"Order the men to retreat to the next set of defenses," Mundi quickly responded.

On the beach the Clones were firing and peeling away, pouring disciplined fire into the droids that had made up the initial landing force. But lines of Platoon Attack Craft Mk. II's were on their way right behind them. They landed all at once, and from the rear ramps a roar of battleready warriors sounded out. Soldiers decked out in dark-colored and detailed three-piece armored cuirasses and leg and shoulder plates came streaming out. They all held a tall hexagonal shield with the sigil of Tion on its face. Their blue and black armor made them stand out, and their helmets were easily identifiable. They wore a helmet that went around their heads completely save for a piece that allowed their faces to show and they all had a curving back point on the forehead of the helmet and two more curving fins over their ears. The most recognizable aspect was not just their armor and shield, but it was their blaster spear, a staff with a trigger that fired a powerful blaster seamlessly built into the base of the eight inch twin forked vibroblades that were forged to a razor's edge. They all also had a single long Khopesh-style sword in a scabbard, for when things got really close. These were the Warriors of the Tion, a warrior cult as old as its fiercest rivals, the Knights of Anaxes.

As these swarms of elite shock infantry poured from their transport vehicles their leader, Ronan, stalked out and joined them, pacing calmly as he looked around. He had a shield and his helmet under his arm, his own spear in his shield hand. His bodyguards walked up behind him just as his blue cape settled on the ground. With his usual deadly tone he turned to a commander who ran over, bowed and awaited his orders.

"Bring me the Jedi."

 **Well I think that'll due, the situation is a bit confused for our heroes/villains, depends whose side you sympathize with, but this is war, neither side will have an idea what's going on until it is too late. There's gonna be a battle, not a big one, but our volunteers will face one another soon.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Mundi's rescue is initiated, and a game of chess begins.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Location: Galactic Marines Field Headquarters, Planet Phindar

It had been some time since Ki Adi Mundi had had to fight biological opponents. The fighting on Jabiim was something of a bad memory for the Jedi, twenty-seven of their order had died there, many at the hands of the people that he found himself engaged with right now, the Nimbus Commandoes. Their red laser fire zipped by his head whenever one got a bit close, and he reflected the shots back with expertise. A dozen of his men had gotten hit in the first moments of the fight, but he had ordered the retreat to the rocky jungle highlands. He and a platoon of troopers were holding the line while the wounded were being evacuated on board a dozen BARC speeder bikes.

"Pull back!" Mundi ordered, pulling the roof, made of an LAAT's wing, off the command center and in front of them to cover them, "Go!"

"Right sir!" the squad leader said as he pulled back, right as a rocket blew a hole right through the wing, throwing a pair of clones back along with Mundi, sending a piece of shrapnel through his shoulder.

"Pop smoke!" the Clone Commander yelled and multiple clones dropped smoke canisters that started billowing thick white smoke clouds that a pair of Clones dragged Mundi stumbling through.

A crafty officer dropped some thermal detonators underneath the wing and moved back laying down cover fire as the timers started beeping on the detonators. The green-clothed commandos pushed up on the Clone position, and they saw a few bodies on the ground but not much else except the smoke.

"Captain, the Clones have pulled back," the commando said quickly, waving over to the man.

"The Jedi?" the officer in charge demanded.

"No sign sir," another commando called out.

"Well, they have nowhere to run except those hills," Captain Nightshade said as he pulled off his helmet, running a hand through his black hair, sighing at the lack of a Jedi body.

At this point a few vehicles came up, two modified PAC's escorted by a single WLO-5 Speeder Tank. Tion troops in their unique decorated armor and blaster spears and shields piled out of the back, followed by a single man wearing a blue cape and had a pair of swords at his hips. He clearly had blood on his armor, Clone blood, symbolizing kills already. He stalked right up to Captain Nightshade and growled at him.

"Why are you here?" he snarled.

"Orders, destroy the enemy command and control," he replied.

"And you let the Jedi escape."

At that moment the thermal detonators exploded, sending a pair of commandos sprawling backwards. Nightshade flinched down, dropping to a knee and held his rifle up and at the ready. Ronan simply grunted at the explosion and stepped past Nightshade.

"Begin the advance, the Clones are in headlong retreat towards those highlands. We'll squeeze them until they break," Ronan said as a column of Tion infantry marched past alongside blocks of battle droids painted in camouflage patterns.

Their shifting armor and stomping march was in perfect contrast to the droids, ironically moving the same way. The Tion infantry was clearly visible with their shields held tight to their sides and their blaster spears held straight up. This was a new army, a much different one than the Republic had ever faced.

Location: Republican Guard Massing Point, near Vivyis-12

The fleet Lieutenant Jun Sato saw before him was truly one for the ages, a battle-hardened powerhouse of star destroyers, cruisers, and corvettes headed by the massive heavy carriers and battlecruisers of KDY. There wasn't much that they could do but look on and pick away at the much larger enemy cruisers as they swerved into and out of the combat zone, but Sato had kept the little ship alive.

The _Bittersweet_ had suffered some damage, as all the corvettes had. Falling debris and cannon fire had scored the hull in multiple places, a handful of dents, and one of their coolant valves had ruptured in the engine bay and the repairs had very nearly killed his engineer who was recovering on oxygen in the medical bay. They'd turned out much better than most of their fellow corvettes. Sato had watched one of their fellow Hammerheads in Task Force 9 get blown to pieces by a crashing _Providence_ -Class Destroyer with all hands lost. TF9 had suffered eight ships lost, including one of their Venators and one of their light cruisers.

Sato knew it wasn't much, but his little ship had been part of the victory over Vivyis-12, and he hadn't botched it. The crew was still alive, the ship was still operational, they were still in this fight. It gave him a new confidence, the kind that didn't come easily to a fresh graduate with no command experience. Vivyis-12 was his test, and he'd passed. Yet, he had a feeling that this wasn't the end. More was yet to come. He could feel it. Ship replacements were arriving by the hour from shipyards from around the Core for crew survivors to take up. That meant a captains' assembly in an hour. His ship was already lined up with the Star Destroyer _Undefeatable_ , their flagship. They would receive a top-off of supplies and tibanna gas while docked.

"Sir, we're docking," his deck chief said, opening the door to his quarters after being allowed in.

"Good, let Lieutenant Kolzaar know I'll be in the captains' meeting and that he has the ship."

"Aye sir."

Sato typed save on his computer and downloaded his completed report for handing it to his commanding officer. The data disk he took and placed it in his pocket, and smoothed his new uniform for the briefing he knew was soon to occur. He walked to the hatch as he heard the thump and hiss of a successful docking. His pilots were getting pretty good at taking care of this ship. He walked to the front of the door where two of his crew were standing with A280's in hand as per protocol. He keyed the comm to the men on the other side so they knew he was coming aboard.

" _Bittersweet_ commanding officer," he called out, "Permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted."

He opened the door, and on the other side was a squad of Marines, in their lighter white and red armor, cleaned pristinely with their planetary arm symbols clearly visible. The men of this ship were of the planet Ixtlar, a city world near Coruscant. The Marines snapped to attention, holding their A280's firmly in front of them as he entered and saluted the commander who stood there with another lieutenant next to him. Both saluted back.

"Lieutenant Sato welcome aboard. The ensign here will show you to the briefing room, I'll see to your ship's re-provisioning."

"Aye sir, thank you sir."

"Follow me sir," the ensign said calmly.

"Very well," Sato responded and followed the young officer, "So, how did your ship make out?"

"Moderate hull damage. Number one mount starboard side blew half its barrels," the boy said, "Lost a good twenty gunners. Our squadrons took a beating though, a quarter of them were lost, but we saved some of the pilots."

"Better off than most I guess," Sato responded, "We got out mostly unscathed. One man got burned by a burst coolant valve, but the ship's still combat effective."

"Better than most again eh sir?"

"Very much so."

"Well we've got an intermission to repair and replace our losses," Sato replied.

"Not from what I hear sir. Word is that us and a couple task forces are being pulled out somewhere near Mandalore. Word is that a new Separatist fleet's on the offensive out there."

"I heard it on the news, Phindar's all but fallen. Master Mundi and his Galactic Marines are holding on by their fingernails," Sato replied as they went up a lift.

"Hopefully a few Guard task forces can make a difference out there."

"We will."

"This is your stop sir, the other captains will be here shortly," the ensign told Sato, and saluted before he could be dismissed.

"Very well ensign, thank you," Sato saluted back.

He presented his credentials to the Marine at the door and walked in, seeing the assorted officers who commanded their other ships. All the ship CO's had survived except for a single corvette which had been lost with all hands. The assembled officers looked to Sato, the older ones dismissed him, the younger ones nodded politely. He then took a seat, taking a cup of caf that had been offered by a steward attending the needs of the officers waiting.

Sato sighed and settled into the cup, and didn't say a word until a call to attention went out and all stood at the word. In walked Rear Admiral Daci, commanding officer of Task Force 9. He was a young man, well young for a flag officer. He was hard-nosed and heavyset. Not much could move him from his course of action once he was set on doing what it was he wanted. Well, nothing except a direct order. He was accompanied by Commodore Viotec, a smaller man, a Pantoran with a shaved head to hide the fact he was losing his hair rapidly. He'd lost his flagship, their Split-Bow Assault Frigate, the _Contribution_ , but had miraculously survived with quite a bit of bandages on his face proving it along with his arm in a bacta-filled cast held in a sling. He had a pair of additional Pantoran officers from their two QuasarFire Carrier-Cruisers.

"Gentlemen, be seated," the admiral said as he stalked into the room to the front of the briefing room where the long table was situated, "There's much to do, little time to do it."

The assembled officers, including two women who commanded corvettes, sat down quickly, holding their waters and caf close. Aids passed out datapads with the symbols for SECRET blazed on the front and their names below that big intimidating word.

"We are set to partake in a counter-offensive. Operation 'Swift Comet', a push to broaden the front against the Separatists and take the strategic worlds of Botajef and Phindar along a handful of minor colony worlds to relieve the Clone forces under General Ki Adi Mundi and take their place in the line so Clone forces can pull back to reorganize for an offensive in the southern Outer Rim. We will be accompanied by two other Task Forces, the 7th and the 8th, and we'll be based around the Heavy Carrier _Relentless_. We will make our jumps to the rendezvous point over Corsin, there we'll rendezvous with some new additions to our fleet, command has reorganized our task force makeup again now that newer more powerful ships have rolled out of the docks at Kuat and Corellia. You'll see the new organizational chart in your documents."

Sato took a look, and was amazed by what he saw. Their task forces had been modest in size before, but now they were fleets in their own right. Each had its usual one _Imperator_ -Class and three _Venator_ -Class Star Destroyers and four _Acclamator_ -Class Assault Ships. But now they had beefed up the striking arm with the additions of two brand-new and now battle-proven two _Victory_ -Class Star Destroyers, fresh off of victory against the Bulwark Fleet. These new star destroyers were the same size as a _Venator_ , but were more gun-heavy and armored, with more in common to an _Imperator_ than a _Venator_. Their cruiser screen had not only been increased, but another new class of ship added to it, a CR125 Corellian Destroyer. This ship, Sato saw, was to serve the role of a fast attack cruiser, a ship too fast for larger more powerful ships to bring it down, but too heavily armed for faster ships to take it, and they now had three of them. Their Split-Bow Assault Frigates, their heavy cruisers, were doubled from one to two. Their _QuasarFire_ -Class Escort Carriers had been increased from two to three. The light cruisers, the _Arquitens_ -Class, was now upped to six ships per task force. For the CR90's, Consulars, and Hammerheads they had eight, ten, and twelve of each. In total TF9, and soon the rest of the task forces of the Guard, now had fifty-four ships.

"We're the first to take delivery of and test this new concept. The rest of the Fleet will phase in their new ships in shifts as the crews and ships are brought online. But rest assured we've got more than enough than the Seppies can handle with a hundred and sixty-three ships. I want your ships to be prepped to make the jump once all have completed their refueling and replenishing. Dismissed."

"Escort ships skippers hold back please," Commodore Viotec spoke up.

Sato remained in place, having been more than ready to leave. Once the capital ship captains had left he and the other corvette captains and cruiser captains were all that remained with the Commodore.

"Alright, we all saw the new Task Force order of battle, that means that we're dividing up the cruisers and corvettes into two separate escort wings. You can do the math there, we'll have one CR125 and another carrier in a sort of limbo, able to shift to either of the two and provide additional firepower. However, we still have to divide up our ships..."

The man started to divide the captains up into the two separate wings, and Sato was sent to Escort Wing 17, which would mean he was predominantly going to be on the left of the formations that they would find themselves in.

"And another thing, we'll be usually sent as escort to isolated convoys and patrols. With our increased force complement we have to assume more responsibility over a larger area. That includes some menial duties like blockades and escort. Be prepared for that, we'll spend a bit of time doing all those things."

"Aye sir," the officers replied.

"Also, we've got some promotions. All lieutenants aboard the corvettes will be promoted one grade. Those of you senior lieutenants, congratulations on your new promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Your sub-lieutenants will receive the rank of full lieutenants. Cruiser captains, your promotion lists are in your own documents as well as all of your own enlisted ranks' promotions. Questions or comments?"

Sato couldn't help but beam in pride. His time in grade was only half of what was needed to rate a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Unfortunately though he was now capped out as far his rank. Protocol stated that the highest rank the commanding officer of a Hammerhead Corvette or a Consular Cruiser could achieve was in fact Lieutenant Commander. But, he still had only partaken in two battles and no minor skirmishes where he could truly prove himself. Sato wasn't exactly ambitious, he didn't feel like he was bound for admiralty or glory like the Anaxes Knights seemed to believe. But to be honest with himself he didn't mind gaining a bit of notoriety, not many didn't.

Location: Super-Battleship _Patriot's_ _Resolve,_ Orbit over the Planet Columex

Fleet Admiral Der was getting impatient. Fuel was low, and the Republican Guard had yet to make a push. She hadn't believed Grievous' claim that he had crippled the majority of the Guard's capital ships and that their ground forces had been heavily reduced. Not many of the biological officers and none of the analysis droids believed half the stuff that Grievous claimed when he lost. When Grievous lost a battle it tended to be disastrous due to his all-or-nothing strategy and tactics. She had no such ability or willingness to risk her fleet. So she had to balance her fleet's need to attack with its need for fuel.

She'd seen the massive fuel depots get annihilated by Republican Guard fighters and had to watch them slink away into hyperspace. It got her blood boiling knowing that Drexel had again gotten the better of her without actually engaging her directly. That stung, but she had her own strike fighters, the Scarab II's. And she had enough fuel to use them.

"Do we have any clue where they might be massing?" Der asked her assembled intelligence officers.

"We've had reports of passing Guard ships at Zeltros, heading towards Vivyis-12. But we lost them," the Sullustan there told her.

"Send probes and recon ships. Find 'em, once you do track them long enough for us to position ourselves to launch strike waves."

"Roger roger," the droids in charge of the probes stations said on command and turned and began to coordinate the launch.

Der sighed, knowing how much time this would take, "And Phindar? Where are we?"

"We've barricaded the Clones into a corner of the island they're concentrated on. But it's almost impossible to dig them out. The ground is near vertical and is covered in jungle. The droids can't move up the slopes and our troops are slowed down by enemy mortars and snipers. Plus…the Jedi has been an issue."

"Of course he is," Der replied and rolled her eyes, "I thought Ronan would deal with him?"

"He was supposed to, but was interfered with."

"Of course he was. Bunch of Jabiim diehards and Tion nutjobs. Pull the Nimbus Commandoes out and send in regular units. Can't afford to have Mundi bleed our best troops this early in the campaign. Reassign the spec ops troops to raiding Bandomeer, pave the way for Task Group 6."

"I'll send them immediately," one of her officers replied, "Priority targets?"

"Civil infrastructure, sow discord before sending in the troops so we can rebuild it and gain popular favor," Der instructed, crossing her arms over her chest, "Leave no traces."

"Roger that."

"We've obviously gotten Drexel's attention set on us here with his main body. Let's at least keep the pressure up elsewhere."

Location: Assault Ship _Ticen's Dawn_ , In Hyperspace

"You sure you'll not be needing me cap'n?" First Sergeant Kelrein asked as he coughed through the pain.

"No Kelrein you just get recovered now," Captain Challis said softly to his badly wounded First Sergeant who laid on a medical cot, his left arm gone and a terrible burn on his left side from his face to his waist.

"Aye, will do cap'n," the older man nodded, "I," he tried adjusting but Challis held him down forcefully, "Right…anyway. Broower is a good man, he'll serve ya fine as First Sergeant."

"I know, you recommended him as you were being medivaced," Challis nodded, knowing that the man in question was one hell of an NCO, both feared and admired by every single platoon, despite him only being 1st Platoon's Platoon Sergeant.

"Seems an awful shame, missing all the celebrating after a win like that. Millions of droids wasn't it sir?"

"Millions, yeah. The doc says you might be able to retire after this latest injury. That's worth celebrating right?"

"Aye, it is, lots of sleeping in now," Kelrein chuckled, "No more wee stupid second lieutenants whose hands need holding doing a land navigation course."

"You only did that twice," Challis poked.

"For this company aye, for others when I was a platoon sergeant…oh cap'n the stories I have for ya."

"Tell 'em when I visit you again alright First Sergeant?"

"Aye, will do sir," Kelrein said as he closed his eyes, but sighed again, "Cap'n? Did I ever tell ya that you're doing a wonderful job keeping these lads in the fight?"

"Thanks," Challis said as he got up.

The officer looked down the long rows of beds with wounded men of varying states of severity. Medical droids and doctors shuffled about, keeping them all stabile and looked-after. His company had been lucky, of their 177 officers and enlisted men they'd lost twelve dead, sixteen wounded on Vivyis-12. But this was added to their thirty-one dead and forty-three wounded suffered on Commenor, their homeworld. But of their fifty-nine wounded only ten weren't going to return by the time they were needed. Still, losing forty-three troopers was a harsh reality check. But Captain Challis still had one hundred twenty-five men and women left to take care of. He'd lost some leaders, but his company had stepped up to the challenge and he was fortunate enough to have all his officers still alive. But he had lost three members of his Company HQ: his radioman, one of the company staff medics, and the First Sergeant, the soul of the company. Replacing Kelrein would take work, but the old man had had a plan for that just in case, and had been bringing a Sergeant First Class Broower, 1st Platoon's Platoon Sergeant, to take over one day.

Today was that day, and Challis was walking there to give Broower the news. He knew his platoon and platoon commander wouldn't be happy, but such was the army, the company needed him now. He walked through the halls, helmet under his arm, both it and his armor freshly cleaned up. There were dents and scratches in it, but he was more than proud to wear them. He walked into his company's barracks and saw a handful of his wounded already returning with clean bandages on them where visible. Broower was visible immediately, speaking with another pair of NCO's organizing some new replacements.

"Sergeant Broower," Challis called out.

"Sir," Broower said quickly and walked over, "Go ahead get them racked up and ready for training."

"As you know the First Sergeant's going to be evacuated for recovery. You're taking over the job as Company First Sergeant," Challis explained.

"Understood sir. We've got a lot of replacements that'll need to be worked on. May need some motivation."

"Very well. Get to work, we're taking part in an operation soon. We'll need to reorganize quickly. See to any leadership billets that need feeling," Challis ordered.

"Roger that sir, we'll be ready."

"Good. Get the men training, keep their minds occupied."

Location: Island Highlands, Planet Phindar

The jungle was intimidating. Clothed in fog, nothing but green mountains and the ever-present knowledge of an enemy hiding amongst it, ready to pick them off. Each Confederate soldier had had to march up a muddy track to this position beneath the start of the highlands. The air was suffocating with high humidity and the heat was intense. Their heavy ACH-14 helmets were dirties up by the close-in jungle and not very many could see the Confederacy Hexagon on the front of the helmets' metal ring. Their pants, boots, and coats were soaking wet thanks to the humid air, mud, and occasional rain showers.

This was the 2nd Division of the Patriot Forces, a mashup outfit interspersed with a handful of aliens including Duros, Fondorians, and Quarren. They were all sitting under the cover a ditch at the edge of the forest where a long hilly open ground of grasses was between them and the Clones. They couldn't see the Clones, but they knew that they were there. Occasionally a mortar round would land amongst them, causing a casualty or two. Fortunately they were protected enough by their soft tactical vests had some plates in the fabric on the back and on the front and shin pads and knee pads. It wasn't like they were walking buckets, but they weren't unprotected.

"How long are we gonna sit here and let the Clones pick away at us?" a grumpy sergeant Duros by the name of Hemga said as he sat there amongst his squad.

"No idea sarge," the squad's medic, a young human female named Eimma said as she dropped down next to him and tugged off her hardened pack, "Salt pills! Get 'em while they're…pills."

She dug out the bottle with the pills in it and started handing them out to her squad as another pair of troopers, a pair of Fondorians, ran up holding all of their camel backs, water pack.

"Sorry about the wait," the youngest of them panted, "But a sniper's got the creek in his crosshairs."

"You put the cleaner pills in these?" Eimma asked.

"Of course, the Sergeant Major…reminded us."

"Oh great, am I gonna yelled at?" Sergeant Hemga groaned.

"He was just asking if we did, we didn't, y'know because of the sniper, so he watched us do it."

"Did the sniper get anyone?"

"A medic from 1st Platoon took a shot, don't think he made it," the boy sighed, taking out a death stick and lit it, taking a drag as he leaned back against the grassy knoll next to the others.

"Damn, kriffing Clones," Hemga said as the platoon sergeant ran over to them.

"Hemga, get your kids ready, you're on point," the older NCO ordered, "We're taking that cliffside there on the right, aerial recon says there's mortars on it, if we don't take it they'll keep popping rounds off right down our throat.

"Droids?" Hemga asked.

"They're in the middle, the tanks aren't able to push up here, but division's laying out an artillery bombardment in five minutes to soften them up. Be ready to push up when the artillery lifts."

"Got it. Pack it up, lock and load."

The squad of ten started putting their packs on and buckled them up. They lifted their A280's and switched off their safeties. Two of them actually had a new weapon, T-21 Light Repeating Blaster, a long-range and rapid firing blaster that was very effective at doing the job of laying down fire. They all laid down amongst the long grass beneath the rise and waited beneath the shade of the trees as they saw and heard the clanking of their droid allies moving into position to their left.

"So we're going after that?" one of their Quarren troops asked, pointing up at the sheer ungle cliff that went up thirty feet and dominated the clearing which was the entrance to the highlands.

"Not gonna be easy," Hemga said in reply, "Eimma, stay back, do not get separated from me."

"Okay…" the seventeen-year old girl nodded as she held her A280 so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Make sure you've got your hair under your helmet," Hemga also pointed out, "As red as you are that might give you away."

"Right," the young medic rolled her eyes, pulling it up under her cap under her helmet and then pulled on her tactical glasses.

Hemga shook his head, he had a really young squad here. Eimma wasn't the only one who was under eighteen. The two Fondorians in his squad were brothers, one was seventeen the other was sixteen. Then there was also his only non-humanoid, a Quarren who didn't say much except to gripe about being thirsty or how he didn't care about having a helmet. He had six humans, two of whom were female including Eimma. So he had to keep an eye on everyone like a hawk.

"Uo, Ai," Hemga called to his two young Fondorians, "You good?"

"Ready to kick some buckethead ass," Ai, the younger of the two, said proudly.

At this point the artillery started to come down. Red bolts from their unique proton cannon artillery vehicles landed hard, sending explosions tearing through the opposite treeline including the cliffs. The screeching sounds were bone-chilling as the rounds arced in over their heads. The dust of the explosions went right up and clothed the area in smoke. Cheers came up from the unit around them as they waited for the bombardment to let up. There wasn't much that they could do but look through their sights to see not a shred of movement or a shred of evidence of effect.

"They're really laying it on those Clones," Uo called out happily.

"They sure are…" Hemga said with a smirk. But then the artillery stopped, "Okay move up, stay spread out."

"There's no one left up there sarge," Ai said as he was the first one up and over, followed by his brother.

"Don't be so sure," Hemga said as the others stood up, rifles held close to their shoulders, scanning the cliffs.

They moved forward, and Hemga could sense his medic being right there next to him. The two Fondorians were confidently out in front. The squad formed a wedge moving towards the cliff, jogging up the open ground. Enough of them were alert enough to see something on the high ground, a glint of white. Then mortar explosions tore into the droids to their left, and the squad dropped to the ground as blue blaster bolts started raining down from the cliff and the larger more distant cliffs covered in rainforest.

"Down! Down!" Hemga ordered as they all dropped to their bellies amongst the grass that seemed to swallow them.

"The droids are getting obliterated!" Eimma said from behind him.

Hemga took a chance and saw that the company of droids with them was almost entirely wiped out by mortar fire and blaster fire.

"Is everyone okay?!" Hemga called out, and heard okay's from a bunch of his men. But then saw one of his men in grass in front of him. But he wasn't moving.

He crawled up, and shook the man, it was Guye, one of their human males. The man's body had smoke rising from under him, and Hemga rolled him over and saw a blaster hole in his chest.

"Guye's dead, stay low!"

"What?!" Eimma cried out as she crawled over, "Oh man…"

She reached out and felt for a pulse, but there was none.

"Spread out, don't bunch up," Hemga said as a blaster bolt ripped through the glass over their heads.

"Push up! Push up!" the radio went off in his ear.

"Move!" Hemga yelled and ran forward, leading the way.

His squad followed him, but he saw another squad was head of him and had a good half of their number get dropped by blaster fire and a mortar strike sent one of their men cart-wheeling as it landed practically under his left foot. Then a string repeating blaster fire downed the remaining members of 1st squad. He saw out of the corner of his eye that another of his squad got shot squarely in the chest and then Ai got hit in the left leg. Eimma ran to him and helped him, and finally after a stream of fire went by them and they managed to duck behind a bluff at a sparsely wooded escarpment at the foot of the cliff.

Hemga looked back and saw that the rest of the company hadn't made it, they'd pulled back, leaving his squad alone. He did a headcount, seven had made it, Ai was hit in the leg, evidenced clearly by Eimma's bandage getting soaked by purple blood. Ooran, their Quarren, had taken a hit to his arm, and was trying to bandage it himself, and had a hand from Corporal Quasle, his second in command.

"Sarge, we're in bad shape, two dead, two wounded," Quasle said as he dropped down next to him.

"And we're effectively trapped right up next these damned Clone positions," Hemga growled, and tapped at his commlink, "And comms are down. Spread out, nothing sneaks up on us."

They also saw that darkness was starting to fall, and a pair of other soldiers from the other squad scrambled up, wounded in their right arm and in the lower abdomen. Both weren't in a good way.

"Two more are down back there," one of them struggled to get out as Eimma tried tending to him.

"We can't stay here!" Eimma cried out.

"You wanna go back through that? No, stay here get them stabilized. I'll get them."

Hemga started crawling back to where the groaning of a Koorivar who was coughing up blue blood. He dragged him back, and deposited him next to the squad.

"Kriffing…Clones," Hemga growled, "Okay…let's get into the fight."

The other troopers stood up, and started firing, but Dax took a hit through the helmet and dropped almost instantly. The others dropped back down, knowing that this wasn't a good situation. They were pinned and probably outnumbered.

"Gonna be a long night sarge."

A mortar strike landed right behind them, forcing them to duck.

"Yeah, really long night."

 **Been a while, but I'm back. I'm trying to get into the mood again now that I have…graduated with my Bachelor's Degree. The story's back on, and I have also gotten a couple chapters of A Brutal Reality done. So I'm back in the swing.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Operation 'Swift Comet' is on.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Location: 2nd Patriot Division, Planet Phindar

The night was as dark as it was frightening. The squad didn't have much of a position, it was just a sharp deep depression with tall grass and a fallen rotten log on the right to provide some cover to the right facing the forest. A game trail cut through the underbrush ahead of them, and Sergeant Hemga knew that sooner or later they would have to move down it for a simple reason, they were far too exposed, the Clones knew they were here, the body of Dax that was laying to the left with a poncho over his body was evidence enough of that. He also had five wounded, three from a different squad and two of his own. But that still left his five remaining able-bodied troops to guard against a looming Clone counter-attack.

"You know it would only take one Clone with a grenade to kill us here sarge," Corporal Quasle whispered as he dropped onto his side next to Hemga, who was looking through his blue-tinted night vision goggles, which were just a cheap camouflaged civilian model you can pick up off any store shelf.

"I know, but we can't move these guys," the Duros squad leader whispered, "And I'm not about to leave 'em."

"You know that G'oul's not making it, we can carry the others to better cover through the forest back to our lines," Quasle replied, pointing to the badly wounded Koorivar.

"As long as he breathes we're not leaving him. But…it wouldn't hurt to scout a route back, I don't wanna sit here much longer without a way out. Take Fera and Ooran, scout about a hundred meters back through the forest, see if there's a way we can make it back," Hemga ordered.

"Roger that, Fera, Ooran, on me," the human corporal ordered and crawled out of the ditch on his belly followed by the eighteen-year-old brunette and the slightly wounded Quarren. This left them alone heading into enemy territory.

Corporal Quasle was young, being only twenty years old, a native of Fondor, he had followed his parents after they'd moved from Coruscant following being laid off of work thanks to excessive government regulations shut down their plant. They'd found work at a Techno Union factory there on Fondor, and from there he'd gone on to join the Patriot Forces when the threat of invasion by the Republic again threatened his family's welfare. So here he was, trying to do his part to protect his family, although crawling around here on this godforsaken miserable island he wasn't exactly sure how it all fit into the overall scheme of things. He'd managed to keep his thin beard due to relaxed grooming standards in the Patriot Forces, but he'd kept his hair reasonable short so it could stay underneath the patrol cap he had on under his helmet which was strapped under his chin. His tactical goggles had a primitive HUD that signaled the positions of his squadmates and the relative positions of other squads, platoons and companies should he need to know. Right now his glasses were under his night vision goggles as he made it to the treeline, and was now able to hear the trickling of water through the trees.

"A creek?" Fera asked, she was a native of Serenno, and was no friend of the Republic, seeing as her parents were very political and so was she by extension.

"Stream, if we find it we can follow it to the creek by our own lines," Quasle said with a nod, "Let's go."

"Right behind you," Ooran agreed, readying his T-21.

They climbed up and over a fallen tree and landed on their feet and crouched low, moving through the thick ferns that came up to their hips and hid anything below their prolific leaves and stems. The trees were close together, with high-up buttress roots making for a relative maze for the three Separatist soldiers to pick their way through. Fera stayed in the rear with Ooran between them, his repeater ready to swing behind or ahead to lay down suppressing fire as needed. Quasle still kept them moving forward, ducking and moving from tree to tree, A280 held tight to his shoulder, ready to raise it and engage.

"I don't like this…" Fera said quietly as they moved forward, finding a tricking stream pouring through a draw that lazily formed small pools as it poured through roots and made its way down through the jungle towards their own lines.

"Well it sucks but we're here, come on," Quasle replied as he now stepped into the stream.

His boot went in with a light splash, the pool was deeper than he had anticipated and he sank up to his shin and the boy stumbled slightly dropping his guard to catch himself on the buttress root to his left. But his foot slipped and he toppled down to the left and sat into the water and fell back into the pool squashing the local water mushrooms that rose to the surface like small lillypads. This made quite a disturbance and Quasle was instantly terrified of the noise he'd created.

"You okay?" Ooran asked as he leaned down, being more careful than his team leader had been.

"Yeah, sorry about that, might've just screwed us," Quasle said as he looked around, expecting Clones to start descending on them any moment.

"We can just get out of here and we'll-," Ooran said and looked behind him when they heard a sharp disturbance where Fera was standing. But when they looked back they didn't see her at all, just her helmet, laying on a fern stem.

"Oh shit…" Quasle said as he looked at the helmet with wide eyes.

"Where'd she go?"

"The Jedi," the Quarren said, crouching down and leveling his repeating blaster in the direction of their missing comrade.

"We need to fall back," Quasle whispered and looked around, and then saw a pair of figures zip in between a pair of trees, bounding towards them, "Oh we're so screwed."

"Freeze!" a voice ordered them harshly, and a Clone holding a DC-15 Blaster Rifle stood up and leveled it at them from behind.

Ooran swing the long heavy barrel around but took a bolt through the chest for his resistance, and fell back into the water with a splash but Quasle was able to move faster and fired at the Clone but the enemy trooper was quick and ducked down immediately. Another blue bolt from a Clone behind him lanced through his left shoulder and he lost all control as he felt the burning pain coursing through him and dropped his rifle down but held onto the grip and dropped to his knees in the water, gasping at the pain as he then let go of his weapon and grasped the wound which was still sizzling and burning. More Clones were now visible, aiming their weapons from incredibly close range. He couldn't grab his weapon in time, but didn't find it possible to really comply with their demands. Slowly drawing his knife he tried getting onto his feet, and one Clone who was down next to him that he didn't see took the stock of his DC-15 and slugged across the Separatist soldier's face and he collapsed, a cut across his cheek and his nose broken. The night vision goggles and helmet were dislodged, and was grabbed by a pair of troopers.

"Is he alive?" Quasle heard a different voice say as he was put on his knees.

"Yes General," one of the Clones responded.

"Put him in binders and take him and the girl to headquarters. We must learn our new enemy."

Location: Star Destroyer _Constant Fury_ , Republican Guard Massing Point for Operation SWIFT COMET

The ship was impressive, even if it was the smallest of the Star Destroyer classes that KDY had built. Newly-promoted Commander Wain Kuat had seen this as his chance for advancement from the moment that he had laid eyes upon the list of ships in need of officers. The _Victory_ -Class Star Destroyer he found himself approaching had listed an opening for the job of executive officer after its former XO had been given command of another _Victory_ that rolled out of the slips over Kuat. He'd put his name in for consideration, and a couple days later he was contacted by the captain of the _Constant Fury_ and given the good news. He was assigned officially the next day by Grand Admiral Drexel himself.

Wain had known that he would be safe on Drexel's growing staff, maybe even made an operations officer some day with the rank of captain. But that wasn't how he worked, that may have been the way the Kuat family did things, behind the scenes pulling strings, but this was a war. Wain had no intentions of sitting to the side, watching his career be advanced on someone else's coat tails. Here, on board a star destroyer he knew he'd show himself as the leader he knew he was. Despite the fact he was young, still only twenty-two, he knew that the massive duties of being the right-hand of the captain and overseer for a crew of five thousand was no small job. So he'd have to make an impression instantly if he were to succeed here.

The shuttle he was aboard came in right under the ship into her ventral hangar, and he was already on his feet. He straightened his brownish olive uniform, and pulled on his black gloves and made sure his new rank plaque was straight polished. It was something he was pretty proud of, two code cylinders and a spaced board of three blue tiles over three red tiles indicated a jump in seniority over Lieutenant Commanders, which was the highest of the junior officer grades and now he was in the ranks of senior officers. His hat had the usual Republican Guard emblem in place of the metal one on the GAR officers' hats, the insignia of the Republic. It made for a different-enough uniform from them to be distinguishable since they'd gotten rid of the red stripe a few weeks ago to make the manufacturing of uniforms easier for the company that made them. Wain finished his preparations by tightening his belt and checking his blaster pistol still in its holster.

The shuttle touched down and Wain stood up and was greeted by what he assumed was the ship's Command Master Chief Petty Officer judging by his three-by-two all gray tile board and three code cylinders stowed on his left chest pocket as was regulation for the enlisted ranks' uniform. The old grizzly Kuati NCO had his helmet on, the red helmet shining where it needed to shine and the clean uniform coat and gray pants and boots being perfectly smoothed and cleaned. The C/MCPO snapped off a salute and Kuat got down to the clean deck and returned it.

"Commander, welcome aboard the Constant Fury sir," the Master Chief greeted him once the formality had passed, "I'm Command Master Chief Korom, pleasure to have you aboard. The Captain's waiting for you in his quarters."

"Lead on then Master Chief," Kuat said as he passed the F-302's and F7's on the deck undergoing slight maintenance by their uniformed pilots and crewmen, each doing their job perhaps a little too diligently due to the presence of the Master Chief and the new XO.

"They seem a little wound up," Kuat noted as he returned salutes from enlisted personnel at every turn once they entered the halls.

"New XO sir, none of the lieutenants wants to have you jumping down their throats for someone in their section screwing up this early."

"Well there's going to be ass-chewing Master Chief, one way or another. The battle group's going into combat in three days, the captain will expect me to get the wrinkles out of the crew before that happens," Wain reminded the NCO as they got to a lift that would take them to the captain's quarters' level.

"The ship's got a good crew sir, many of them fought the ship against the Bulwark Fleet. The gunners are good, the damage control teams are better, and the hangar's working just fine seeing as we about lost half of it last time we were in action," Korom told him, but felt that he should give him a slight bit of exposition on that, "Enemy battlecruiser broke through the line trying to escape, pumped a full spread of concussion missiles right into the stern hangar bay from below. Those missiles ignited Y-Wing munitions being loaded onto our bomber squadron making a rapid landing for rearmament, lost every Y-Wing pilot and every hangar crewman in less than five seconds, over three hundred casualties in total. But we saved the ship despite that."

"Helluva job Master Chief, but I'll see for myself how good the crew is, brief your chiefs, there'll be response drills, gunnery and damage control drills, and station inspections within the hour and will go all day until they are done right. Understood?" Kuat deadpanned to the much older man.

"Aye sir, understood," Korom nodded, and the lift stopped and opened, revealing the section of the officers' quarters where the captain's own quarters were.

"I suppose this is my stop," Kuat said and stepped out, holding his bag over his shoulder, "Well, best get going Master Chief. This will only be a minute."

"Yes sir, third door on the right past the T-Junction sir."

"Thank you Master Chief."

Kuat walked with purpose to the captain's door, and checked his watch, and saw he was a full fifteen minutes early, right on time in the military. He knew it was the captain's quarters by the presence of two white and red armored Marines holding A280's in their hands standing guard. The door had the marking of a captain's rank plaque and his name below it. The two Marine guards snapped to attention, their A280's snapping to forty-five degrees up and their heads went up as they saw the commander approach.

"Commander sir," the corporal at the door greeted him and reached for the door control, "The captain's waiting for you sir."

"And you assume I am who I am?" Wain said in reply, noting a breach a security protocol, "Where's your code cylinder reader corporal?"

"Right here sir," the corporal nervously said, realizing his error and pulling out the scanner.

Wain snatched it out of the man's hand, and inserted his code cylinder and the information popped up showing who he was and that his current assignment was in fact here aboard the Constant Fury. To complete his identity verification he put his thumb on the print reader and DNA reader. It blinked green showing that he was who he said he was. He showed it to the Marine, and without a word put it into his hand.

"Now, if I hadn't been who I am what would you have done? No, I'll answer that for you, you would have let an intruder into the captain's quarters. Your name marine?"

"Uh…Corporal Stannik Derran sir, RM-4556."

"Corporal Derran consider this your first write-up from me," Wain said, pulling out a data tablet and scanned the man's insignia and hit the appropriate keys for submitting a disciplinary write-up, it was done right in front the man, just a part of his method to beat the lesson in, "Now will this be repeated corporal?"

"No sir, it won't sir," the young Marine said clearly grimacing behind his black T-visor.

Wain saw the marine's stance slouch in a fairly sad manner. He'd been on the ship less than ten minutes and had already ruined someone's day. But snapping a crew out of bad habits was his job. This wouldn't ruin the man's career, but he would get chewed out by his squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader, first sergeant, and company commander. The lesson would be learned, and it wouldn't be repeated. So he walked into the captain's quarters to see the captain of the ship, Captain Rokk Toerry, waiting for him.

"Captain Toerry sir, Commander Wain Kuat, reporting for duty sir."

Captain Rokk Toerry was a big man, powerfully built but had a slight bit of age to him with squinty eyes and a big man's swagger. He had his uniform unzipped, not exactly prim and proper, as befitted a Kuati naval officer, and he looked over at his new XO, frowning at him slightly.

"You done berating my marines Commander?" he said, leaning back against his desk, taking a drag on a cigar before dropping it into a pan, having exhausted its contents.

"Uh, sir he wasn't complying with security protocol," Wain replied.

"Huh, well, that's the job. But don't go about making enemies of the crew, especially the Marines, they're the enforcers of those protocols. Now Commander Kuat, what news from on high?"

"Sir?"

"You were on the Admiral's staff, yet you requested duty as XO aboard a Star Destroyer, I'm assuming there's a reason for that. Looking for some action perhaps?" the big man asked calmly, "You think a coming offensive will give that to you?"

"Truthfully sir?" Wain asked, getting a nod of go-ahead from Captain Toerry, "As Grand Admiral the old man's got more to look after. He won't necessarily take an active part in the fighting anymore as our forces grow and take over more responsibility. I didn't want to be pushing reports around for the entirety of the war."

"And you thought duty as an XO would rid you of paperwork? You haven't learned much about being an officer have you?"

"At least here sir I'm like everyone else. Not getting special treatment," Wain shrugged.

"Ah, so that's what this is about huh Commander? Tired of seeing the looks you get from other officers when they hear your name is Kuat?"

"I'd be lying to you if I denied that sir," Wain nodded, casting his gaze low.

"Hmm, at least you're honest. So you're here to avoid special treatment? Well you won't get any on my ship. The job of XO is hard and it is constant. Your job is to maintain discipline of the crew and the readiness of the ship. Your action station is in the auxiliary bridge, in the heart of the ship forward of the reactor where you will manage damage control and be ready to take over the ship if I am dead or otherwise incapacitated. During blockade duty you will manage boarding and inspection parties for anything from light freighters to supertankers. You will meet me for breakfast in the officer's mess and we'll go over the day's orders. Then you watch begins at 0600 on the bridge and runs until 1300. From 1330 to 2000 you will oversee drills and inspections on cyclical basis throughout the ship. From 2030 to 2200 you will then go over reports with me in my office as they are brought in. Are you tracking commander?"

"Tracking sir," Wain replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed, but knew that was again part of the job.

Captain Toerry then looked to his clock on the wall, and motioned his head to it.

"Well Commander, it's nearly 0730, you should probably be getting to your watch and relieve Lieutenant Commander Jecx, our gunnery officer. Orders for the day are as follows: Conduct readiness exercises, maintain sector security, "

"Yes sir."

"Leave your things here, I'll have a steward take them to your quarters."

"Thank you sir."

"You haven't commanded a ship before have you Commander?" Toerry asked as Wain was about to snap off a salute.

"I had the bridge of the _Basilisk_ for half an hour once," he shrugged.

"This ain't the _Basilisk_ , and this isn't that kind of bridge duty, you're my XO now. Step up and do the job or I will replace you."

"Sir," Wain nodded and saluted, and was dismissed.

Wain had to pull up his ship's schematic to find his way, pretending to be reading a report instead of a map. This ship was nine hundred meters long and had dozens of weapons emplacements and five thousand personnel on board. It was no small ship he was aboard, now calling home. Droids and personnel were everywhere, saluting him as they passed. He was used to having other commanders and an admiral or two around him being on a staff, but here, he was second to only one, and that was enough to give him a great boost of confidence to be here outranking all who passed. But that put pressure on his shoulders, more than he'd ever felt before.

Location: Orbit over Bandomeer

The ship that dropped out of hyperspace was a _Barloz_ -Class Medium Freighter, it was marked up like any normal produce freighter that frequently visited the world, but it wasn't. Inside were a dozen Caridan Commandoes, part of several waves of such special forces being deployed to forward recon the neutral planet for any Separatist presence that they could find and deal with. Republic Intelligence knew the crossroads world was a home to smugglers, bounty hunters, and criminal enterprises of every kind. But it was also a home to a Separatist spy network and a suspected sensor node on the dry world. Numerous old stone buildings of the capital made for good hideouts both Republic and Separatist intelligence agents and special forces who sought one another out in ways that were shady.

Murder, kidnappings, bombings, and shootouts were the rule of the land for the warring intel agencies of both sides who used local gangs as muscle and their eyes and ears. Colonel Myec had been in places like this, it was no small task to blend in and get in and out of their home base and find and destroy enemy forces under the noses of local law enforcement. He could see the spread-out capital city with its maze of walkways, skyscrapers, markets, and skylanes of traffic and it was crammed streets of speeders and speeder bikes and a pair of space ports, each dominated by either Republic or Separatist operatives, and doubtlessly their home bases on the planet.

"Well, we're here," Myec said as the team got ready to get off as they approached, "Go ahead and signal home base."

"Sir, home base isn't responding," the comms officer in the cockpit replied after a few tries.

Myec looked down at the spaceport and then at his men who'd heard everything, "Lock and load, be ready for contact."

They each had their A280CFE's, and all of them started assembling them into combat mode, their long-barrels off, and stocks attached for close quarters combat. All of them threw on their black armor, fully-loaded for combat. Each had a backpack with a side-tube filled with four of their small assistant combat drones, small droid spheres able to explode on order or kill an opponent on a different order.

"Deploy your droids, move out to home base, clear all sectors. Something's happened, I know it," Myec said to his men as they got to the dock and landed quickly, "You guys call for QRF, Team Dagger."

"Roger that sir," the ship's commander said and started broadcasting the appropriate code.

They knew what they were walking into, their ship had two guards, Corellian operatives specially trained in ship defense. It was dark out, perfect concealment, and the dozen Caridans were out of the ship and making a perimeter within seconds. Myec moved to the front entrance, knowing it led to their home base in the underground warehouse of the docks where Intelligence was established in a safe house that obviously wasn't answering their hails. They opened the old sliding door and breached two at a time, each clearing the hall in both directions after their combat mini-droids zoomed in ahead of them, beeping in their ears to signal that the coast was clear.

"Sending a droid through ventilation," Myec stated quietly, prying off a vent cover with his knife and sent one of his droids through, and it began sending a feed to his advanced tablet fixed to his wrist.

It moved silently, not touching the metal walls and zipping through and then dropped down, he could see light coming up from below, and he knew that he was there in the network of ventilation shafts that kept the warehouse well-cooled in the brilliant heat of day. He tapped a control on the droid and it deployed a small fiberoptic camera through the grating the vent cover and he was able to see that indeed something had gone wrong. The thirty people stationed at the safe house were scattered on the floor, blaster holes in their chest and black-clothed humans picking through their bodies as others with astromechs were trying to go through the three rows of computers on the main floor. It looked like it had been a helluva fight, damage was everywhere, carbon scoring cratered the walls and floor, and smoke hovered in the air. But it seemed as though the Separatists had lowered their guard now that they had won their victory, sifting through the wreckage and bodies shining their flashlights around leisurely.

"Alright, twenty plus Seppies, humans, decked out in black tactical gear, black helmets and armed with A280's," Myec ordered, and they all stored that information, "Let's break these guys."

Myec led the way down, carefully watching the muck and filth of this spaceport's halls for boobytraps of any kind. But he was starting to see evidence of a fight, carbon scoring and bodies of local hired guns. They'd gotten taken by surprise and forced back, suffering heavy casualties, but as he and his squad continued moving they could see that the battle had ended, the hired help had lit off, through with getting murdered by a clearly superior foe. They made it to their destination of choice, a balcony that gave open access to the lively and bright city beyond the spaceport and surrounding it with skylanes of traffic and the lights of the skyscrapers and advertisements streaming along holographic projections along the durasteel and glass of the cityscape.

"Cables," Myec whispered in a single word and each of the operators attached a strong ascension cable to the metal railing and started to summit it. Their droids were right behind them, hovering protectively near them in a perimeter.

Their armor was moving on them perfectly, without a noise or shuffle, and they started to move down, suspended by their cables as speeders zoomed by below them and out away from the fifty-foot building a mere twenty meters away. They could tell how they were going to get in, their checkpoint markers were firmly set right below them, and growing closer. Myec was the first to reach the appropriate point and magnetized his hand and knee to the side of the building, and signaled for explosives to be planted. Two men started to pass along thin black explosive blocks meant for breaching walls and attached concussion charges on the corners of the ten by ten square hole that they intended to blow into the building's wall.

"Charges set," the squad lieutenant whispered.

"QRF is five mikes out, breach in five sierra, go."

The squad leader nodded and hit the countdown timer and the team positioned themselves. Two buddy teams positioned with two short-barreled DLT-18 Repeating Blasters ready to swing in to breach and clear with their built-in jetpacks ready to be utilized to thrust themselves inside and detach from their cables and enter the building with extreme speed and violence. To emphasize that the men below the repeater gunners had flash bang grenades primed and ready, and another man had already primed a cylindrical EMP charge to be tossed in to black out the lights and droids at the same time.

Then the charges exploded violently, blowing open a gaping square hole in the building into which two flash bangs were thrown followed by an EMP charge. The loud explosion of the breach was still ringing in the ears of the Caridans when the flash bangs exploded and the EMP killed all lights. Then blue blaster fire poured in through the smoke as the Caridans switched to thermal optics on their helmets to see through the dust. The swarm of droids now worked their way into a swarm mode, and dove inside, and flurry of blue laser fire lit up the dust. The first men through were the gunners, button-hooking inside and followed from below by their rifle-toting comrades, guns ablazing.

Four of the Separatist strike team were killed almost instantaneously, they hadn't been prepared and the flash bangs had done a number on them and the small swarm of droids flowing inside was not exactly a good thing to face. The Caridans smashed their way in, and streamed inside with blasters leveled and armor facing them wearing their softer tactical gear. The droids were having a ball, swarming in the air and firing, but then something happened, an enemy popped off an EMP Charge of their own and their droid swarm dropped out of the air.

"That isn't good," one of the Caridans called out.

"Can't trust droids to work when you want 'em to."

Myec was the next pair to go in, jetting up and sprinting inside and leapt over the railing that they were on to land on the ground floor. Here there was no dust and he was able to see something surprising, these individuals were taking them on already, raising their blasters tight to their shoulders and ready to face off in a straight-up brawl. He aimed and fired as a pair of enemy troops moved towards him, firing disciplined aimed shots at he and his battle buddy and dropped one of them who just went down as if he'd tripped and fainted at once and saw the name-tag for his comrade behind him go to red as the Seppie operator that was left fired a double tap into the Caridan's chest.

But Myec fired another burst and the black-clothed enemy went down. He turned right at the sound of a door opening and fired at another black-clothed hostile and killed him after pumping as many as six shots into his chest as he breached out of a door. The reason he got hit so many times was that the hostile behind him was so close behind he landed on top of him and was held up. But he too got hit as the body dropped and was followed by third who fired at Myec rapidly but got nailed through the head by another Caridan dropping to the ground floor to his assistance.

A major shootout was underway now, disciplined operators shifting positions forward and side to side. Cover was plentiful here, and the Caridans and their enemy made ready use of it. The computers and their monitors were wrecked almost immediately, and anything that was left was destroyed by a thermal detonator thrown by a Caridan, catching three hostiles in the fiery blast.

"More in the sidehall sir!" the Caridan next to Myec alerted him.

"Got you covered go!" Myec said and leveled his blaster, firing into the dark hall where he saw several enemy moving towards the firefight.

The commando next to sprinted to the door, firing as well but when he got to it an A280 was leveled at him from just within the door and the blaster was fired into the man's head, killing him instantly. The Caridan dropped with a sharp clatter onto the floor onto his side, rifle still held loosely in his hand. But the hostile who'd killed him acted with sheer speed and training in violence of action.

Myec didn't even have time to call out 'man down' as the hostile breached inside and Myec was already moving towards him. They inevitably clashed in hand-to-hand fighting as Myec gripped his rifle upright and swatted the opposing A280 away as it fired with a burst of red right by his head and he immediately tried batting the rifle butt into his opponent's masked face. But the all-black uniformed man he was facing was part of a group that was unlike any opponent the Caridan Commandoes had ever faced. At this close range Myec saw they had armor plates on their shoulders, back, and chest as well their shins, and their helmets were a new variant, smooth and matte black covering their head like a balaclava with a thin red visor glowing slightly. He saw the CIS patch on his arm, and also saw the unmistakable symbol of the Nimbus Commandoes, a very reliable past ally in counter-piracy and counter-terrorism in the outer rim. Now war had made them enemies.

Myec swung his rifle up to club the Nimbus Commado facing him but the man ducked under it, grabbing the rifle and swinging his own body weight to throw Myec up and over his shoulder and pinned him down to the ground with his own rifle against his neck. Both men tried to draw their pistols, but neither was as fast as Myec's back-up, his own wounded battle buddy, Lieutenant Droo who was now holding his wounded side with one hand and holding his SSK-7 in the other, stumbling towards him. The Jabiimi operator dropped back and Myec gasped slightly at the release of the pressure against his windpipe. But Lieutenant Droo stumbled into the firing line of the hallway where several enemy combatants were still in, and a dozen red blaster bolts punched into him and he stumbled back and fell against the side of the row of computers and went limp.

"Man down!" Myec yelled out, rolling onto his side and managed to peek into the adjacent hall to catch another pair of Nimbus in the open, and hit the first with a shot the caught the man above the sternum at the base of neck and then fired again as he went down managed hit the second man in the arm as he switched down to fire at him.

Scrambling to his feet Myec knew that he had the flank of his team, and had to cover it. He heard the stomping of boots coming towards the room and turned with his blaster pistol in-hand and fired into one of the enemy who was there practically in the doorway, dropping his opponent with a wounding shot to the shoulder as his stance protected his center mass. There was another enemy behind him, who reached out and grasped the pistol with his right hand twisting it down and away bringing his knee into Myec's wrist dislodging the weapon and threw a vicious left elbow into Myec's helmet and followed with another right that Myec ducked under, grabbing the man's vest with his right hand and beltloop with his left and flawlessly kneed the commando in the gut and then pulled him forward and kicked his legs out from under him with his right leg and pulled his rifle up still buckled to his chest and fired into the man's back before he got up off of the ground. Then he heard a metallic bang noise next to him.

The lead Caridan had to roll, using his jetpack thrusters to get him on his feet as a grenade landed inside the doorway and ducked down behind a table that got thrown onto its side. The explosion didn't effect him from behind cover and he lifted himself up and charged the door, firing from his Viper Grenade Launcher and seemingly shattered the will of the enemy trying to breach at him and his team's flank. This seemed to really set a new tone, and the Nimbus Commandoes engaging his other fireteams started to break away, laying down covering fire and retreating through other doors in the back of the warehouse as Myec looked down the hall to see that the enemy was indeed falling back.

"Dagger-6, Dagger-5, we are thirty sierra from boots on the ground, what is your status over?" he heard his XO call out on the comms.

"Dagger-5, Dagger-6, we've got three KIA, two more wounded, the safe house is destroyed I say again safe house is destroyed, need medivac over."

"Copy that six, we're almost there. Have got eyes on shuttles departing the space port, make them out to be enemy over."

"Roger Dagger-5, that do not pursue. Secure the port, hold your positions. Hostiles are Nimbus Commandoes, I say again Nimbus Commandoes."

"Say again Dagger-6, Nimbus Commandoes?" his XO snapped.

"Affirm. Do not pursue and remain in cover, they'll have snipers all over the area."

"Sir, these're Nimbus!" one of the sergeants called out, genuinely startled and more than a little enraged as he kneeled next to a body of a fallen operator.

"I know," Myec replied and then saw a flash of red out of the blasted-open hole they'd made in the wall and dropped behind the cover of the computers, "Sniper! Just as I said…friggin' Nimbus."

"Looks like we've got ourselves a real fight this time," the squad leader said in reply.

"Yeah, I guess droids were just too kriffing easy."

 **This was a helluva scene, actually two of them. I tried to find some movie footage of what an even fight pitting seasoned operators against one another would like but I didn't, so I had to figure this out sorta on my own. It turned out better than I thought actually, and hopefully. I can get the next one out soon, I figured out what I can with this setting, a Star Wars version of Stalingrad!**

 **So that's the plan, we'll see how it works out.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The Battle of Bandomeer has begun.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Location: Star Destroyer _Constant_ _Fury_ , En Route to Bandomeer

The whooping alarms of the star destroyer got Wain's attention as he went over reports from his gunnery officers giving him the breakdown of their gunnery practices over the past day. Some of the point-defense exercises left much to be desired. His first thought that went through his mind was that he was about to see if his gunners had improved in twenty-four hours. He pulled his cap on and tucked his code cylinders into his chest pockets before opening the door to his quarters and sprinted out towards the ship's auxiliary bridge, his combat station. It didn't take long before he was in it.

"Report ship status!" he called out to the senior lieutenant in the command center.

"All batteries coming online now, fighters are preparing for in-system launch, engineering is answering ready, damage control parties assembling on all decks," the man said, and Wain examined the ship schematic in front of them, where a horizontal and dorsal view of the ship were shown, all sections starting to answer green on the board as crewmen piled into the chairs and control stations along with a handful of officer and a squad of white-armored marines assembled outside the bridge.

"Let me know when all sections answer ready. You there, marine, pass out blasters to the bridge crew now," Wain pointed to the corporal standing in the bridge within the double layered blastdoors.

"Yes sir," the corporal replied through the deep-voice of the helmet speakers.

The man grabbed the Marine next to him and the two opened up the arms locker on the wall by the doors and started passing out the DH-17 Blaster Pistols and their accompanying holsters and holster belts. Wain watched the bridge coming to life and he pulled up a small hologram of the fleet, all hundred and sixty-three ships centered around the _Relentless_ , a _Revenge_ -Class Heavy Carrier. They were forming up into a combat jump formation, _Victory_ and _Imperator_ -Class Star Destroyers leading, it was going to be his first action as XO of the _Constant Fury_ , and he was looking forward to it.

"All stations report green," the lieutenant called out, but Wain saw it on the board.

"Very well, Captain, the ship is ready," Wain called out on the comm to the bridge.

"Very well XO, all stations prepare for jump to hyperspace," Captain Toerry called out to the ship.

Wyatt leaned against the auxiliary bridge's main holographic table. Their crew also braced as the hum of the hyperspace generators activated and the ship launched into hyperspace. A countdown timer came up and it was a mere puddle jump for the fleet, and they all knew that there was going to be a fight waiting for them on the other side, the fact that they would have been going into battle was obvious enough. The ship was soon at the coordinates, and Wain saw that they had dropped out into a hellstorm, ships everywhere, two hundred ninety Separatist warships, mostly small automated attack craft ranging from hundred-meter-long frigates to fifty-meter-long gunships.

The ship was rocked as a flight of four gunships hit the _Constant_ _Fury_ 's forward hull with proton cannons in a long-range firing run that costed them two of their number as a CR90 fired into them as it dropped from hyperspace. Red blocks of damage lit up the board and Wain looked at it, knowing that there was going to be issues, those red areas were near the missile magazines.

"Damage forward, ventral hull, hull breaches detected, minor, fires and electrical overloads reported on decks one through five, sections four and six," the damage control officer responded as they saw the reports.

"Evacuate those sections, vent atmosphere to put out the fires, reroute power to secondary conduits," Wain ordered quickly.

"We can do it without venting sir, we've got over a hundred men fighting the fires, they're not spreading, give 'em time."

"They have two minutes to evacuate and then vent those sections, that is an order lieutenant!" Wain snapped immediately, venting was usually something that shouldn't be done in combat, but larger ships like star destroyers could take it. And more importantly heat and missile bunkers don't mix and he wasn't going to waste time to explain that.

Location: Hammerhead Corvette _Bittersweet_ , Bandomeer System

"Enemy fleet is holding off in long-range fire, gunships are targeting the transports," the sensor crewman called out.

"Bring us about, pursuit course" Sato called out, and sat back with a death glare at the gunships that he recognized to be a Separatist take on a pirate design that had reigned over Mykapo for years, killing hundreds, "Target those gunships, aim between their engines, full power to laser cannons.

The fleet had flown into an enemy outer sentry formation, a pair of Attack Wings from the Separatists' two Squadrons whose battleships and star destroyers were out further away, forming into their combat formation. These sentry ships were made up of eight Type-4 Automated frigates and thirty-two Type-5 Automated Gunships, and the Republican Guard had just dropped down into their midst, scattering them and their hundred Scarab-II Starfighters.

Sato was instantly given orders to destroy these enemy attack craft as fighters were scrambled to counter the Scarabs. So he took some initiative and ordered a pursuit course for the enemy gunships. There were four of them now in front of them, being led by the larger frigate that was firing into Republic ships as they fired at them. He could see the reddish orange long twin engines of the gunships. The single proton cannon in the nose and twin heavy laser cannons in the stubby wings tipped with an inward curling piece of hull plate. He had death on his mind, and he wanted these ships dead.

"Fire, fire now!" Sato ordered coldly, and then the ship's four cannons able to fire forward hit the closest ship, punching into the weak shields before punching through, sending burning sparks flowing from the engines as the engines began to sputter.

"Hits, enemy ship's beginning to lose speed."

"Finish them."

Blue laser bolts hit the gunship, and it began to lose all power as pieces of the hull were blown away and then small explosions worked forward and then the nose exploded and the ship fractured and the formation began to weave away towards the enemy fleet. But Sato wanted another one.

"Sir, we can hit another one, there, the frigate, that one's falling behind, it took a hit from one of the star destroyers," his gunnery chief advised, pointing to the right as a limping frigate was making a break for it, its escorting gunships having been destroyed.

"Get it, focus fire and destroy it."

The crew looked at him, noting Sato's new bloodlust. But they obeyed their orders and opened fire, blowing away the ship's chin-mounted targeting sensor first and then began pumping into the hull, blasting pieces away as the ship began to slow, but fired back, swiveling its front guns to fire on the _Bittersweet_ as it pounced. The hundred-meter ship's bow then began to dip and its engines stopped, dying out entirely. Then the ship's weapon stopped firing and it was over.

"Enemy frigate destroyed," the gunner whooped.

But then a single formation of Scarab-II's swooped in, and fired a volley of laser fire, getting in close beneath the shield and then fired into the hammer of the Bittersweet's bow. The hull held, but the ship was rocked, sending the ship's bridge into a shower of sparks and fire as circuits overloaded and plates dislodged and sent multiple members of the crew sprawling over the floor, some with burns after their consoles burst into sparks and flame.

Sato himself was face-down on the deck, blinking slowly as he tried to get the haze from his vision. His ears were ringing, and he could barely move his arms as he tried pulling his arms under himself to get up. He saw a helmeted crewman rush over to him and pull the young officer up and into a sitting position against his chair. Sato saw the man's mouth moving as he yelled at him. But Sato couldn't hear anything. A chief then rushed over, and ordered the man to carry Sato out to medical. Sato now felt numb, through his left arm he couldn't feel anything and his right arm had tingling sensation and saw that he'd been burned badly. His vision began to haze again, this time colored red, and he could finally figure out he must've been pretty banged up.

Lieutenant Kolzaar arrived, and the chief yelled at him and the lieutenant, wide-eyed, nodded in response and ordered something to the navigator who, with one arm entirely limp started calculating a jump to hyperspace. Sato now knew he was being hoisted between two of his crew and tried weakly to get his feet under him, but he was just dragging them along as the two crewmen rushed to get their skipper to medical. Sato saw several more of his crew were stumbling along as well.

"Lieutenant! Sir! We're jumping to hyperspace," he now heard vaguely.

"No, no, keep…fighting…" Sato stammered through barely a whisper as he was forced onto a cot and two injured crewmen fought through their injuries to keep him pinned to the cot as their medical droid started working on him, and an injection of sedative put him slowly under.

Location: Bandomeer City, Planet Bandomeer

The Patriot Force's 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Patriot Divisions were now on the planet's largest city along with six hundred thousand battle droids. The biological divisions, sixty thousand troops, were all aligned along the main flatlands approaches to the city from the marshy elephant grass-covered fields. It was thought to be nigh impossible to approach with tracked vehicles due to the soft ground, and so they mainly focused on the approaches, harder, drier high ground and three highways that offered plenty of space to attack from.

Sitting up in the veranda of a mall turned combat position was an all-human Jabiimi unit from the 10th Patriot Division. The veranda was home to a weapons squad, two teams of two anti-armor specialists who made use of the large but deadly E-60R Missile Launcher and assistants had six spare missiles in tubes arranged in a special pack. The gunners also had two more of them in tubes strapped against the sides of their packs for rapid reload. Their weapons could knock an LAAT/i right out of the sky from well over five miles away, or it could wreck any piece of armor the Republic could send at them, all but one. Their other two teams had two men in each, a gunner who carried an HOB Heavy Repeating Blaster, the actual cannon, and an assistant who carried the tripod. It was a powerful pair of weapons, able to lay down rapid armor penetrating fire from a long distance, exceeding every standard issue weapon's range, power, and rate of fire. They were set up in a position to take advantage of both weapons.

The ten men, including the squad medic and the squad leader, were all sitting under the cover of the restaurant that the group had made their own little hangout for the time being. It was a nice bar, with all the booze still out and accessible thanks to the rapid nature of their arrival. The owners hadn't managed to hide their stuff, and the ten men were enjoying the wait, putting away a few beers under careful supervision. Jabiimis loved their beer, but drunk soldiers weren't good soldiers.

"I tell ya, I'm not going anywhere, I'll fight to the death for access to this bar!" one of the older men, Sergeant Pitt, declared as he finished putting away his allotted pint of dark brew.

"And now you don't get another for a while sarge," their squad leader, Staff Sergeant Dommis, responded.

"Oh come on, I'm not even close to compromised!"

"Uh…guys? We've got incoming," this time it came from Specialist Teyyez, who had his binos scanning out, and could just make out something coming through the dense rain, a menacing shape now approaching the suburbs of the city.

"What's incoming?" his team lead, Corporal Zeere, asked as they could hear thumping over the sounds of the rain.

"Walkers!"

"I thought the Republican Guard didn't use them?!" Teyyez asked Zeere.

"Do I look like S-2 to you?" the rocket gunner said as he snatched his A280 and slung it over his shoulder and then pulled his E-60R and activated it.

"AT-AT's! New ones!"

Their squad leader lifted his hand to his ear, and gave a roger, "Delta, you two need to move to two-two's position on the position at the overpass at the MSR, they say they've got tanks rolling from the swamp into the city."

"Roger that," Zeere responded, tapping Teyyez on the shoulder, "Let's go big guy, we've got tanks moving into the city on the MSR."

"Cool, let's get 'em," Teyyez responded as he pocketed his rangefinders and then snatched his A280.

The two of them ran back to the entrance, but a screeching sound caught their attention and a blue blob of an artillery proton shell went smashing through the glass wall and exploded inside of the building, sending shards of glass outwards along with dark smoke mixed with lighter dust. The two Separatist troopers had to stop and absorb the shockwave, but were uninjured and sprinted into the now ruined interior. Products ranging from clothes to electronics to snacks were scattered everywhere along with pieces of the tiled floor. Another pair of Separatist soldiers came running towards them, one of them holding up the other one who was trying to limp along, his trousers torn up and dripping blood.

"Where's two-two?" Zeere asked them.

"We just came from there! A whole fekking Guard battalion is attacking right up that road! Two-two's gone!" the unwounded corporal replied.

The two weapons squad troopers looked to one another, but knew that they had to get to that main highway and do something or the Republic might compromise their defenses. Plus they had orders, those orders were to be obeyed. The two-man anti-armor team rushed through the building and then as the two ran Zeere ran around the corner and slipped and fell when the ground seemed to slope suddenly in the thick dust and smoke. Red and blue blaster bolts zipped by outside, glowing in the smoke as Teyyez rushed to his comrade's side and looked for him.

"Zeere!"

"Down here, the floor's fekking gone!" Zeere called out, hanging onto the open crack in the floor, a ravaged scene of rubble and fire below him as he tried getting back up.

"Two-two is very gone!" the second Seppie soldier nodded unhappily and grabbed his NCO and yanked him up.

As soon as Zeere was up a flurry of blue blaster bolts fired up at them and the two dove to the ground and crawled behind cover. Zeere brought his hand to his comm and knew that their CO would need to hear this.

"Actual this is Delta, 2-2 is gone! I say again 2-2 is gone, the building's been blown apart, instructions?"

"Del-…this-Actual, falling ba-, say again fall-," Dommis could barely be heard, but the young gunner heard and understood.

"Copy Actual, falling back to RV, meet you there. We're falling back! Let's get outta here."

"Tank, tank, tank!" Teyyez pointed out rapidly and Zeere saw the column of T-4A's rolling forward into the city with lots of infantry coming up with them, clearing the now-rubble-strewn road's side alleys ahead of the vehicles.

"Get me a rocket ready, let's see if we can get one or two," Zeere ordered and pulled his E-60R out and shouldered it, letting his A280 hang from the buckles on his vest.

Zeere locked his scope into place over his eyes and held the locking button down on the scope that covered both of his eyes and the missile's warhead seeker started locking onto the rear of the furthest T-4 tank which was starting to summit a pile of wreckage, pulling the loose rubble under its treads as it struggled forward. He got an audible beeping in his ear and a box emerged on the tank.

"Clear backblast!" Zeere called out.

"Backblast clear," Teyyez replied.

"Rocket out!"

A sudden whoosh kicked up a large smoke cloud and he saw the missile leap from his launcher and tracked its purple rocket motor and it went right into the rear of the Republic tank and exploded, blowing the vehicle's weak rear hatch wide open and sent the white and red armored infantry near it scrambling for cover.

"Reload, quick!" Zeere ordered as he ducked away from the window and his assistant started the rapid process of opening the rear exhaust shield and ramming a new missile into the launcher.

"Reloaded!"

"New target, tank, right below us!"

"Let's get him," Zeere said and looked down and aimed at the tank that was now stationary, its turret trying to find the source of the destruction of one of its comrades, it was close enough he didn't need to lock on, "Clear backblast!"

"Backblast…oh shit!" Teyyez screamed as he saw a line of white and red Republican Guard Marines storming up the circle stairs behind them and towards them, "Contact rear!"

Zeere swung around and saw the Marines rushing up the stairs and they saw him and Teyyez and leveled their blasters right in their direction. It was odd, he'd been told the Republican Guard troops weren't nearly as intimidating in person, that they were just amateurs with fancy armor. But looking at these Republican Guard Zeere wasn't so sure about that propaganda point, seeing the way these troops moved in their armor and their emotionless T-visor helmets he felt like a machine of war was on its way towards destroying him. So he loosed his loaded rocket right at the squad as it rushed towards him. He didn't even call it out, and the rocket smashed into the rails next to the Republic squad and exploded with an almighty bang that cloaked the stairs in smoke and dust after a bright flash.

"You think I got them?" Zeere asked as he slung his launcher onto his back and pulled out his blaster rifle.

"Oh you think?" Teyyez bit back, and then the two started shuffling towards the balcony rail that overlooked the veranda that the enemy had come in from.

"They're down," Zeere said and then the rail a few feet from them exploded as a Viper Underbarrel Launcher fired from below and shattered it.

Both Separatist soldiers went stumbling backwards onto their backsides and quickly scrambled to their feet and saw, in the clearing dust, a rush of four Republican Guard Marines rushing forward up the stairs Zeere had just blown apart. Teyyez was the first to open fire and Zeere was right behind, firing from the knee at the four enemy marines pushing up the stairs and hit their fireteam leader who crumpled into a heap at the top of the stairs at the second floor, two below them. One of them stopped and loosed a DLT-18 Repeater up at them, sending a stream of blue blaster bolts right past their heads.

"Frag 'em!" Zeere ordered, ducking to the side and behind a metal bench be the rails across the blown open railing from Teyyez.

"Got it, got it!" Teyyez said as he pulled a cylindrical and very poweful fragmentation grenade from his vest and tapped the button and pulled the pin and then tossed it over his head blindly in the direction enemy fire had them pinned down. They heard the helmet-broadcasted calls of 'grenade' sound out a second before the explosive detonated, well below the enemy.

"You missed!"

"It's a harder throw than I thought!"

"Screw it, let's get outta here!"

Both of them scrambled in a low hunch and evacuated, heading back the way they'd come, passing a dozen B1 Battle Droids with a pair of B2's running at the front of their two by seven column. They and the droids got engaged as they passed one another by the same enemy Marines firing from the balcony they'd just retreated from. Both of them dove through a glass storefront and shattered it, landing amongst a group of tables and chairs as the droids, as per programming, spread out into a battle stance and into cover, firing at the Republic troops who downed the first four droids, including the Supers, as they moved.

Zeere felt a stabbing cold pain in his left bicep, and saw a large sliver of glass protruding from the back of his bicep, through his uniform. Blood stained his uniform and he felt it beginning to drip down his arm. However big the glass piece was it was big enough that he felt it scraping against the bone, deep in the muscle tissue.

"Zeere!" Teyyez said as he got to his feet, and saw his team leader with a large piece of glass jutting from his arm, "Oh man…that looks bad! Here," he then reached to pull it out.

"Don't! Don't, it's on the bone, who knows how much I'll start bleeding if it's removed," Zeere stopped him, wincing at the pain.

"Well, good thing I carry CLS," Teyyez reminded him.

A grenade exploding stopped him from pulling out the bag of medical gear on the side of his pack, they were still in combat.

"Reload me," Zeere said as he gingerly got up with his right arm held close to his body, trying to keep it immobile.

He pulled the rocket launcher out and released its scope's fixing pin and flipped the optic to the right side, and replaced the pin, now he could actually use it. The young Corporal lifted the launcher to his shoulder and then waited as Teyyez got another rocket in the tube.

"Cover fire on three," Zeere said quickly, and counted down, "one, two, three!"

"Covering!"

The two ducked outside the broken window, and Teyyez laid down a stream of fire that forced the enemy to duck back into cover. They saw that more of their foes had reached them, and that a more dense target area was presented. Zeere fired his rocket which exploded against the floor across the hall from them and swamped the area in smoke.

"Run!"

The two jumped out, now grasping their rifles as they got to a flight of stairs. But the building shook violently as they got to the foot of the stairs. Both soldiers looked to one another as the floor jolted and large cracks opened up around them. They looked behind them and then saw a trio of Republic AT-AT's firing into the mall's front façade, at ground level, pummeling their building with enough explosive force that the very structure of the five-story building was now compromised. The floor then collapsed, and sent the two sliding down to the floor and into a growing pile of rubble and debris from the products of a sports store. The light went out as the sounds of destruction closed in on the two.

Location: Star Destroyer _Constant Fury_

"Enemy Star Destroyer is closing on our port side!" a sensors officer called out to Wain,

"Bring power conduits to port, prepare for heavy shield stress, reserve damage control parties on standby to move to port side," Wain ordered rapidly, preparing for the broadside exchanges about to be unleashed.

"Aye commander," the chief next to him sounded off as the ship lightly rocked from a long-range salvo of turbolaser fire.

"Bow shields took the strikes, no damage reported."

"Very well."

"Enemy star destroyer closing, all port batteries are holding fire for synchronized broadside," the reserve gunnery officer, a lieutenant senior grade, called out to Wain, giving him a play-by-play of the battle.

"Sir! Enemy gunships and frigates forming on our starboard side," a sensors operator alerted him, and Wain looked at the holotable and saw the movement taking shape.

"Captain," Wain called up to the captain, "enemy small attack craft forming for a broadside attack, starboard side."

"Bridge aye, we see them, the cruisers are moving in to screen our starboard side," Captain Toerry replied from the bridge.

"Recommend we have the Contrite move in for an attack on the enemy star destroyer's starboard, time their volleys with our broadsides," Wain put forward, requesting an attack run by their new Corellian Destroyer, the Contrite, which was nearby, trading long-range fire with a pair of smaller Separatist cruisers.

"I've requested it, doesn't look like they're coming. Any word on the Bittersweet?"

Wain scoffed inwardly, that tiny corvette had taken damage and had jumped, it was just a Hammerhead. However Captain Toerry was still concerned, she was one of their escorts after all.

"Negative sir, no word from the rendezvous point. The Bittersweet never arrived."

"Enemy star destroyer in range, enemy small craft are formed and accelerating towards our ventral side," a sensor man called up.

"Clever," Wain noted, looking at the pattern, "Starboard ventral batteries, prepare for spread fire, bracket those attack ships when they come in range, compact their formation for the cruisers."

The enemy Star Destroyer closed with them on their port side, attempting to elicit a rotation of the Constant Fury's port side, opening up their ventral hangar to attack by a formation of a dozen automated gunships and frigates to make cannon runs against the vulnerable opening or risk losing a gun battle against the enemy capital ship by not rotating to face it with their main batteries and stronger dorsal hull armor and shields. But they had escorts for this purpose, four Arquitens Light Cruisers rushed forward, pouring powerful blue bolts of hate and discontent against the approaching small craft as Guard F-Wings hit them from the Separatists' flank. The attack wing began falling to pieces as the two opposing Star Destroyers, both equally matched began crossing one another's noses.

Wain had taken the textbook precautions for this point-blank engagement, he'd prepped the damage control teams for action to port, he'd routed power to the proper conduits and braced the port-side shielding, and he'd taken nominal command of the starboard side batteries so the captain could fully handle the battle with the enemy capital ship. Now, he felt the first hammerblows of this new enemy class of ship.

The first shot from the enemy ship blasted into the Constant Fury, gouging away the overhanging hull plate and shearing off a section of the bowsprit.

"Sir, hull breaches in section one, deck five, fires reported."

"Move a bow damage control team to the area. Deploy fire suppression."

"Aye sir!"

Then the two ships unloaded on each other. The red-painted Republic Star Destroyer fired a wall of medium and heavy turbolasers into the side of the enemy ship, gouging away sections of the strong hull plate. The same was done to them, enemy flak guns fired into the Constant Fury at point blank range and the ship rocked violently, making Wain steady himself as he forced himself to pull up the ship's overlay on the holotable and looked at the ship's damage control status.

"By the Force," he said to himself, amazed at the pounding they were taking and seeing yellow and orange boxes lighting up along the port side with a few red ones scattered in the worst-hit areas. But so far no black boxes, indicating complete loss of signal and a dead compartment, open to space itself, all hands inside being lost, "Damage control respond by priority. Team leaders have local fire suppression authority, get the fires under control and keep the power to the guns. Engineering, XO, status?"

"This is engineering," he heard the chief engineer call out from the comm, "The reactor's at ninety-percent capacity."

"How long can you hold one-hundred percent?" Wyatt asked.

"A few hours sir."

"Go to a hundred percent on the reactor, route that power to the port batteries."

Wain didn't want to risk rerouting power from the starboard side, he still had guns firing out at a smaller but still potentially dangerous flight of enemy ships. He didn't want to report any weakness. He also knew the shield capacitors couldn't handle much more power, especially if any components ended up getting damaged which was fully possible in this vicious fight.

"Enemy ship is losing power!" someone called out, and then a startling order came over the comms.

"XO, we have orders, board that ship," Captain Toerry called out as Wain looked at the holotable and changed the view to look at the enemy ship, and was surprised to see that their ship had ripped it a new one alongside Y-Wing bombers.

"Am I leading the boarding party sir?" Wain asked.

"That's an affirmative. Once the Seppies are out of the system you'll take a company of Marines and secure that ship, the usual, engineering, bridge, any officers or data we want intact."

"Copy captain. The droid fleet?"

"Pulling back, we've destroyed many of their smaller ships and all of their larger ships seem to be damaged," the captain responded, "Looks like a missed opportunity to wipe out an enemy fleet while we have numbers on our side."

"We've done it then, orbit is secured."

"Just get my ship's damage contained," he responded.

"Working on it."

 **I think that's enough for this one. Sorry for the massive delay. My Arma 3 Realism Unit's been demanding a lot of effort from me writing-wise. It's been a lot of fun and very informative, so I'll be using that in my stories as well. Hopefully I'll be getting more written soon, we're in our December break, so I'll be able to focus on my fan fiction again.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: Round one goes to the Republican Guard. Round two is about to begin.**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Location: Corvette Bittersweet

Their ship was in a bad state, systems of all types were struggling as the crew attempted repairs. Half of them had tears and burns in their uniforms and most those who did were either bandaged or stitched up from wounds suffered during their previous battle and from wounds suffered in its aftermath. The small Hammerhead Corvette was on the verge of dying, for three of her crew they'd crossed that threshold some time ago.

Sato sat there on a medical cot, looking at the body bags holding those three members of his crew as the burns on his arm were treated by the medical droid. The only noise really was the droid's work and the beeping of a heart monitor attached to a very severely injured petty officer laying unconscious on the cot behind him, her breaths coming through a machine pumping air in through her nose. Another trio of men were also too badly injured to continue with their duties, and were quietly sitting on the chairs at the hatch into the medical bay. One was bandaged across the face, victim of sever burns. The second had his leg in a bacta cast, held in place by rigid metal splints with a pair of crutches leaning against his chair along with his arm being covered in bandages. The third had his arm in a sling and half his face was covered by bandages, Sato had learned he'd lost an eye and most of his hearing with the seemingly standard burns and lacerations.

He hadn't know just how badly damaged the ship truly was until he'd come to. The engines were almost disabled, only the lower sublight engine was operating, the others' injectors were damaged, the primary coolant system had fractured in several places. The weapons were almost gone. Only the starboard bow turret and the ventral stern were operational. The main hyperdrive has been damaged, its motivator being nearly gone, so they were left with their backup, a much slower and shorter-ranged one. Worst of all, they'd lost three members of their already small crew.

For a ship this size it was the equivalent of a Venator losing hundreds of personnel all at once. For day-to-day operations it was a crippling blow, for desperate times it was near-lethal.

"How much longer droid?" Sato grumbled.

"Almost done sir, I do advise caution, these injuries are third degree burns, they may require bacta treatments."

"That'll have to wait, just finish the current task, give me some painkillers and let me get on with finishing repairs on my ship," Sato ordered.

"Aye sir," the doctor droid responded and finished his work and Sato felt the sting of a fresh dose of painkillers being shot into his arm.

He unsteadily got up and slipped his uniform on. The ship's captain didn't look too good, his coat was torn asunder on his right side, and he had quite a bit of blood on his face, but he didn't care. The ship had to be saved. Sato walked out into the main corridor, and was saluted by one of his chiefs.

"Captain, you're up?"

"Yeah chief," Sato said, but couldn't return the salute, so he just nodded and the man stood down, "Status?"

"Well sir…we've got the coolant system's damage isolated to the dorsal and starboard engines, engineering will be testing it shortly. Weapons are as good as they'll get, the actual turrets are physically destroyed, we'll need a full refit to replace them. The hyperdrive I'm told is a no-go. It's best to get a replacement motivator rather than risking catastrophic overload. Most of the bridge's components are repaired, we can maneuver the ship and communicate and run sensors. But barely."

"Okay, how's the crew holding up?" Sato replied quietly, seeing a pair of men walk by as if in a daze, barely able to walk a straight line.

"Three dead, three out of commission, most of the rest injured to varying degrees, it's a credit that they're able to function at all. What they need most now is rest sir."

"They can't rest until the ship's safe. They know that," Sato shook his head, "And that's the motivation that'll keep them going. Ease up on the aggressive corrections as best you can. We're all on a knife's edge, best not push them any more than needed."

"I'll talk with the engineering chief sir," the chief nodded.

"Good, I'm gonna relieve Lieutenant Kolzaar on the bridge."

"It wasn't your fault sir, just my view," the chief whispered before Sato passed, "We got picked out and this ship's not designed for that kind of attack. Nothing could have been done, the fact we're not dead is a testament to luck."

"As you were chief," Sato replied, signaling his acceptance of this pep talk without breaking military bearing.

Sato walked into the bridge where Lieutenant Kolzaar was busying himself at a navigation station, checking starcharts and calculating as best he could. Sato knew just by the look of this that something far worse was afoot than mere damage.

"Commander," Kolzaar said, looking up at his captain, "Boy am I glad you're awake."

"Me too," he said and held a hand to quiet the younger officer, "I know the damage, but something tells me we're looking at something worse now."

"Yes sir, in…my haste to get us out of the combat area I…gave the order for a random jump. Sir, we're no longer in friendly territory, we're in Separatist space," Kolzaar whispered.

"By the force…" Sato mumbled, trying to figure a way out of this, "Best not tell the crew until we're certain of a route that'll get us back through to friendly lines. This is a problem for which they'll need to know a solution has been found. Or else…who knows. Keep this information to yourself lieutenant."

"Aye sir. Until then, what do we do?"

"Repair the ship, heal our wounded, say farewell to the dead. It's all we can do."

Location: Republic Landing Zone, Planet Bandomeer

The Acclamator Assault Ship landed without incident, the landing zone was well and truly secure, enemy forces weren't anywhere near the massive base of operations for the Republican Guard on Bandomeer. Captain Challis led the way down the ramp in his Gian V-48 Command Speeder with his radio man Sergeant Luches, the Company First Sergeant, First Sergeant Broower. The rest of Company HQ, the company medic, Sergeant Vael, the supply/training NCO, Staff Sergeant Kea, and the new company XO, 1st Lieutenant Weye, were in the rear in their V-47 Medical Speeder and a second V-46 Command Speeder. Around them, other assault ships had already landed, and they could see an unending line of vehicles rolling away down the roads towards the smoke on the horizon and the skyscrapers where battle could be heard.

"All vics lead vic, pull off, assemble next to Bravo Company," Challis ordered his convoy of Gian Combat Speeders.

The convoy was made up of Gian-model speeders. The majority were V-45 Combat Speeders, armed with a powerful single hood-mounted heavy laser cannon turret controlled either by an automated targeting computer or by the passenger and vehicle commander seated next to the driver. Behind them in the armored cabin were four seats, three in the rear, and one in the mostly-enclosed turret mounting a Mark II Medium Repeating Blaster Cannon. Like the command and medical vehicles their gull-wing doors opened to the sides to allow rapid disembarking. Their squads each had two of them and their platoon HQ's had a different but similar version, the V-46, with an E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster Cannon and the large hood cannon removed and additional communication and sensor equipment added, but nearly as much as the Mark II-armed V-48's who had four spindly antennae sticking up from the rear of the armored vehicle. With all four platoons including Weapons Platoon (Whose V-45's all had E-Web's) and the mortar section tacked on the grand total was forty-eight vehicles of all four types.

"Hold here," Challis said and opened the door and stepped down with First Sergeant Broower behind him and then was met by Lieutenant Weye who pulled in next to him and saluted as he exited his own vehicle, "Battalion's got a mission briefing for us, let's go, Top, go ahead and get the company geared up for the push. Sort out whatever you can that needs doing."

"Roger that sir," the voice of his senior NCO replied with a nod and started assembling all the platoon leaders and platoon sergeants around him to start briefing them on the area in question.

The unit was told to paint their armor in a mix of greens and browns, and their vehicles bore this pattern as well courtesy of their motor pool technicians working like mad to get them ready. The eighteen T1-APC's of Bravo Company were also painted in this same way, as was the armor of their fellow infantry company. Their troops were now standing by, most standing outside their vehicles, taking a few last drags on a cigarra.

Challis walked over to battalion headquarters, an assembly of officers and command vehicles with troops walking around trying to prep to move as Major Saben was giving a brief to the other three company commanders in his battalion. He finished as Challis walked over, and waved him over to a small holotable where a map of the area was visible with locations for friendly and enemy units were marked all over.

"Captain Challis," he started and saw two more captains join, Bravo's CO and a tank company CO, "Captain Orssev, Captain Stils of Anvil Company, 105nd Armored Battalion," he greeted, then began, "Here's the situation: The Marines landed and made a frontal assault against the city using heavy walkers to spearhead their drive in, but they've been met with fierce resistance from Confederate Patriot Forces Divisions, at least four of them, sixty thousand biological infantry, maybe five to ten times that in droids."

"Damn, that's quite a haul if we can bag 'em," Captain Orssev noted.

"Exactly, so Command's decided to try and encircle the city and squeeze them until they break. Our regiment's moving to the northern flank of the city, it's almost entirely swamp out there, so it heavily restricts movement of any kind. That means this hill," he pointed, zooming in on a twin pair of steep hills with a gentle saddle connecting them above the swampy area around it. The hill was terraced with near vertical stone embankments crossed by a multitude of footpaths all around it going from the base where a small road zig-zagged up to a village of about two-dozen buildings at the peaks and in the saddle, "Hill 205, is critical to aiding the northern push. If we can get an artillery observer up there we can dominate the surrounding swamp trails and roads, from there we can have eyes on every MSR and ASR for miles."

"And the catch sir?" Challis asked.

"The fleet can't hit it, nor can our own artillery. The Senate has apparently deemed it too risky to the cultural heritage of the place. We'll have to take it by force, the Seppies have positioned a full battalion of infantry and armor on the hill and in the swamps around it. You're going in with tank support and brigade artillery is standing by to lay down the hurt once you're in contact."

"Any idea on enemy artillery sir?" Captain Stils, the tank officer, asked, "If we know how important it is they'll damn sure know."

"Recon's gotten eyes on enemy batteries forming up west of the city. They're laying it on pretty thick onto the southern flank and the city itself but they keep moving around too quickly to get effective counter-fire. Be prepared to fan out and use the elephant grasses to maneuver your troops," the major replied.

"What sort of armor are we looking at sir?"

"Looks to be two companies of AAT's, and possibly GAT's, so make sure you've got AT sticks ready, those bastards will most definitely try flanking your column if you hold up too long, their heavy vehicles can maneuver in those thickets, our heavies can't," he advised, "To remedy that I'm working on getting a flight gunships assigned to air support, we've got plenty of the fekkers flying around so it should be feasible. I'll keep you apprised of that over comms."

"Roger that sir."

"One more thing," Saben said one last time, "I'm giving the order are to go in with fixed bayonets, we took delivery of those fancy blades, let's use 'em. It's really close-in there with all that high swamp grass, best to have a close-in weapon that'll get the job done."

"Roger that sir. Alpha Company should take point, we've got the faster and smaller vehicles. If we hit a strongpoint along any of these chokepoints we can fan out and perform a double envelopment with Bravo Company and Anvil Company suppressing," Challis suggested, talking with the other two captains.

"Good call," Saben noted, "We'll have a pair of TACP and a Fire Support Team arriving shortly, they'll be your go-between for fire support requests, they'll ride with you Bravo, keep 'em safe."

"Wilco sir," Captain Orssev nodded.

"We'll be expecting them shortly, lastly, you'll have the rest of the battalion on your right, holding that down, advancing in-line. 2nd Battalion's on your left, I'll be monitoring the operation," Saben declared lastly but had another word for them, "When you get there, remember, the bayonet…that'll be the weapon that'll send those seppies running for the hills, give 'em the cold steel."

Challis unconsciously felt the six-inch bayonet that had been issued shortly before their departure. The A280 was already able to mount such a weapon (It had been a popular weapon even before the Clone Wars) but due to them never facing biological enemies they'd never issued them until now. Today, the Guard would go in with blades affixed, prepared to run their enemies through. It would take a special kind of soldier to be able to carry that kind of fight through to the end, whatever it may have been.

Once dismissed Challis walked to his assembled officers and senior NCO's. They knew something was going down, it wasn't going to be easy, so they knew to expect something like that. Challis simply walked over, and unslung his blaster rifle, pulled out his bayonet and attached it. Through their visors the entire company saw it, and First Sergeant Broower was the first to say it.

"Fix bayonets!"

An echoing of the cold order sounded out as every man who carried an A280 pulled out their shining two-sided blade and clicked it into place on the end of their weapon. Challis saw the gunner on one of their speeders rip off her helmet and vomit over the side of the speeder, coughing as she did so. The order was one no experienced trooper really wanted to have to hear. CQB was not to be looked-forward to, and if bayonets were being called up that meant it was about to be the closest of close combat. Challis ignored the sight and focused on relaying the briefing to his company's leadership.

"Okay, we're taking Hill 205, and the village Neff on top of it. From there we'll be able to completely dominate the entire area, call in artillery, spy out movement, etcetera. We're going in with Bravo Company and a tank company, callsign Anvil, in support with artillery standing for fire missions on anything but the village and hill."

"Sir," First Sergeant Broower asked.

"Yes Top?"

"Why can't the fleet just crater this shit from orbit? We have orbital and air supremacy don't we? Why waste time and resources taking a fekking hill?"

"Because some moron on Coruscant thinks it too valuable a piece of culture to be leveled."

"You're shitting me?"

"Wish I was Lieutenant. No, we're gonna have to assault the hill and take it with small arms grenades and light cannons. There's an enemy battalion up there and around it, two full tank companies with infantry and droids to boot. Hopefully we'll be getting some air support en route so we can minimalize the damage they can cause before we get there, so I'll keep you apprised of that."

"We're going into a pretty dense area sir," Broower told him, "Might be a good idea to go in on foot. Clearing our flanks as we go."

"Agreed, we can walk the vics in, following the waterways to maneuver more freely without folding over the grasses, let's have first platoon on the left-hand side of the road in-line, second and weapons in the middle in-column, and third on the right, also in-line," Challis outlined.

"My thoughts exactly sir, we can have mortars in the rear of the column on the road, ready to set up their tubes to send out fire missions."

"We can also have Weapons ready to plug up gaps or support with heavy weapons."

"Actually sir, we'd be better served detaching Weapons' AT teams to either flanking platoon. If they come across enemy armor they'll be right on top of it, they won't have time for an AT team to maneuver to them from the road," Broower advised, more like corrected, but Challis agreed.

"Alright, go ahead, lieutenant, I want two of your AT teams attached to first and third platoons. First and third keep your weapons squads close in to the MSR so they can lay in a crossfire in case something pops up on the road," Challis ordered, getting a knowing nod from his first sergeant, agreeing with the plan, "Any questions?"

There were none, so Challis dismissed them. He waved Broower over to him, having a few things to tell the man.

"Go ahead and go around to each briefing, assert that they use their bayonets, it's going to be a tight fight, hand-to-hand fighting's gonna happen tonight, so be sure they know that."

"Yes sir, it'll be dark in an hour or two, I'll reassert that they need to be careful about noise discipline."

"Good, well," Challis sighed as they all heard the relatively close sounds of Separatist artillery hitting the ground less than a mile away, making everyone look and flinch at the noise, "Time to clock in."

Location: Near Planet Euceron, Confederate Patriot Forces Massing Point

"Admiral," Der's S-3 officer, Admiral Likke, a Muun, called out, running into the command center below the bridge from the communications room next-door, "We've got a Republican Guard fleet at Bandomeer, over a hundred ships, including one of their Heavy Carriers. They inflicted moderate casualties against the Battlegroup we'd already dispatched to hold the Braxant Run. Right now Republican Guard ground forces have landed and a large battle's underway on the surface."

"Any intelligence about Guard fleet movements?" Der asked, waving for the holotable to be adjusted to zoom in on Bandomeer and the surrounding systems.

"Negative ma'am, so far it appears the Guard's principal concentration is somewhere near Lantillies. Do we move the fleet to try and catch this force by itself?" her S-2, a Bothan named General Tred'ham, called out.

"It could be a diversion by the Guard to lure our fleet into chomping on that force at Bandomeer, we leave position here and the route to Raxus is vulnerable to assault thanks to Grievous exhausting our reserves in the sector," she replied, leaning on the table, "No, this has trap written all over it, the fleet we have at Bandomeer will have to hold the line," she said sincerely, resolved in her decision.

"We can deploy an additional Battlegroup from our reserves to reinforce them ma'am," Admiral Likke offered, "It wouldn't take much for that diversion to become a principal assault to push through to Phindar and cut our territorial holdings in two again."

"Speaking of Phindar, what's the status there?" Der mumbled.

"Mundi's Clones still aren't budging, the terrain's impossible to assault we're being told, and we can't really use our numbers to proper effect."

"For pity sakes, I'm tired of this Republic last stand drawing our attention away, order a few ships to maneuver overhead and burn them out," Der waved off.

"Ma'am the reinforcements for Bandomeer?"

"Can't risk another full Battle Group, but we can get away with detaching a Squadron, inform Admiral Flint he's on his own for the moment," Der responded, and looked at the recent reports, "What's the story on Geonosis?"

"We've managed to re-establish control, the bugs are pretty savvy it turns out," General Tred'ham said, pulling out his personal datapad, and began reading, "Major factory projects are underway, thankfully there's plenty of space for them to do so."

"It's a miracle the Republic didn't move more forces to retake the planet," Der shook her head.

"The Clone and Jedi forces were fairly diminished after Grievous went on that rampage and lost the Malevolence, the Jedi tried to exploit that but our remaining forces blunted their offensive," Tred'ham responded, "The Jedi forces however are reorganizing however, a large fleet is massing near Eriadu, it's possible Geonosis could find itself under siege within one or two weeks."

"So we have to make a scene, if we threaten the Colonies, the Jedi fleet may be recalled to assume a defensive posture, buying us time to build up Geonosis' defenses. How are we on fuel Admiral Drakka?" Der asked her S-4, her logistics officer.

"We've refueled enough to be able to launch limited local operations," the Neimodian officer replied, piping up now that he'd been told to contribute, "Give me…two days to requisition additional tankers and I can get us enough for a limited offensive."

"You have one, Likke, get me a plan in 24 hours, I want to make a push towards Roche, that'll get the Republic's attention."

"Roche, their droid factories are some of the largest in the galaxy, the threat of us seizing them will definitely elicit a Republic response," Tred'ham added, "Perhaps even a Republican Guard counter-offensive."

"It would definitely draw their attention away from Bandomeer," Der smirked.

"And draw their capital ships in open space, them placing their fleet in Roche space would be demanded by the Senate."

"Or at least nearby. That narrows the reconnaissance patterns we'll have to make."

"Good, let's get to it, I've got a meeting," Der sighed, pushing off of the table and then dismissed herself.

The young admiral rubbed her temples as she tried working the headache out of her system before she had her meeting. It was set up for a political meeting, the Prime Minister of Bandomeer and the Bandomeer Defense Minister with a CIS negotiator. The two of them were calling her to plead for an end to the conflict on their world. She couldn't say that she would blame them, their forces were small, but able to turn the tide in one way or another, however they didn't know which side to take and swing the battle and therefore end it. They didn't know who was going to return to try and finish them off. She knew their people demanded action, she'd been there herself, Der had been them.

She got to her office and sat down as the memory struck her once more the same way as it had so many other times before. Der's homeworld had become a battleground, her home had been attacked by Republic forces. Her planetary defense forces were tiny, laughably pathetic in all respects. Their principal warships were three pirate-modified Interceptor IV Frigates and two Interceptor IV Frigates that she'd helped turn into carrier refits with Z-95 Headhunters bought from an Eriadu Defense Fleet boneyard.

She was a commander back then, she was in command of their two carriers and their thirty-two fighters. A fleet of five lightly armored modified and modified again former freighters does not make for much of a fleet. But she couldn't sit back and watch her world getting torn apart below her. She had to take action. She'd weighed the consequences, the Republic wasn't there to invade, the Separatists had only set up a large communications relay post and a shelter for their spy network in the capital with the blessing of her admittedly corrupt government. But she was a sworn officer of their defense fleet, and she had a family to think about. The Republic was launching a raid, a raid that had turned into an invasion, the capital had fighting raging in the streets, civilians were caught in the crossfire and the ministers council was unable to meet and make a decision. So she did.

Her ships fired on the three Venators that were supporting the strike. With the combined Separatist force of a dozen frigates already engaging them the Republic was forced into retreat. They'd never returned, and Der was offered the dream of a flag officer's position. She'd stayed for the purpose that drove her to fire on those massive Republic warships then, to protect her home. If things went bad, if they lost, all hope for advancement for her people would evaporate. Sanctions and federal jurisdictions would cripple her people's already failing economy. Property would be seized, farms stolen, lives destroyed. In the Confederacy she had the ability to prevent that. She'd put them in that position, it was the Separatists or doom for her people and her family and she would be the reason for either outcome. Now, here she was, putting the Bandomeeri government in the same position she'd been put in so many months ago.

"Fleet Admiral Der," her personal assistant droid greeted her standing at the desk in front of her office/living quarters, "Your conference transmission is prepared."

"Good, I'll take it in my office. Hold all alerts except for emergencies until we're done," she told the silver-plated droid.

"Yes Admiral," the droid responded in turn in its fine and pleasant tone.

She walked in and made sure to look in the mirror on the inside of her door. Her uniform needed to be smoothed over and her hair pulled back into its bun. For the sake of her call she felt as though a few dabs of makeup to disguise the bags under her eyes would not go amiss. She did so, and when she was satisfied Der walked into her office and went to the low table there and typed in the code to unlock her office computer and saw that her call was in a few moments. As she took a drink from a glass of water the beep came in. Knowing who it was Der rolled her shoulders back and took a breath.

"Connect transmission," she called out.

The images of the Bandomeer delegation, a Meerian, a short silver-haired man in politician's regalia, a middle-aged and grumpy-looking human wearing a green combat uniform with his rank on it. His was definitely the face of a man who wanted to take action, but wasn't allowed to. She knew Bandomeer's military capacity, their primary weapons were reasonably modern, their vehicles marginally modern, and their aircraft almost hopelessly outdated. But they had lots of them, military service was compulsory on Bandomeer, so she knew that they were now mobilized in some numbers. Those numbers were what she wanted.

"Prime Minister Miinstrus, thank you for taking the Confederacy up on its offer to engage in talks."

"Admiral, I do hope you can give us more than what has been offered by the Republic, for your forces' sake on our planet," the man responded with a semi-courteous nod.

"The Republic? Sir, the Republic is just doing to you what they did to my world. They claim to be saving you, when in reality, it's just another invasion. I've seen it before, and when Republic forces arrive, in particular the Republican Guard, they lay waste to everything they come across. Isn't that what has happened to your beloved capital? I've seen the reports, the Republic is decimating your city."

"Because your soldiers came, they made our city a target."

"Sir, Drexel isn't a politician, his priority is victory. To him and the Guard force is all the means they feel they need. The capital was going to be attacked either way. Your forces would have set up defensive postures like we did wouldn't they? The fact is my soldiers are dying as we speak to protect your people. The evacuations, the air defense network, all of it is to protect your people," Der responded, being firm and sincere.

"At the expense of our city, we're tallying…millions in damage!"

"And you're losing Admiral," the uniformed man, General J'Unnian, added, putting in his own input, "We've counted at least a hundred thousand Republic troops on the ground with almost as many in reserve. Your own troops are being pushed back, your fleet in orbit took losses and retreated."

"They won't be outnumbered. If…we can count on…eight hundred thousand troops, plus four thousand fighters, as many gunships, and perhaps twenty thousand vehicles," Der smirked, looking at the officer who narrowed his eyes at her.

"That…is the sum total of our forces, and at the moment it's closer _seven_ hundred thousand, not eight, and half of our fighters aren't even flightworthy. Plus what chance in hell do we have taking on that fleet overhead with our Starchasers?" he snapped back, "Not only that, but we don't have heavy tanks, we don't have heavy artillery, and the Republic does!"

"But we do, we have lots of all of those," Der replied very confidently, "Along with investors, markets for your goods, and the willingness to let your people exist as they wish. Plus, our fleet, my forces in particular are growing at an incredible rate, our ranks swelling with people who have seen the destruction that the Republic can unleash."

"So is the Republican Guard, and they have a similar story."

"Sir, if I may ask, whose artillery is bombarding your capital? And whose soldiers are evacuating your civilian population?"

Location: Republic-Controlled Sector of Bandor, Planet Bandomeer

The sounds of thumping artillery stirred the two Confederate Patriot Forces soldiers who'd found themselves buried in the ruins of the lower wing of the mall. Dust enveloped them as the caved-in floors shook from each impact nearby. Corporal Zeere blinked away the dizziness that was encompassing his vision as he tried to move. But a bolt of pain went through his arm as he moved. He groaned loudly, grabbing for it as he felt the bloody bandage.

"Zeere" a whisper caught his attention.

"Teyyez?! Man am I glad to see you brother," the young NCO sighed as the shape of his assistant gunner slid down next to him, shining a flashlight down at him, and the shimmering of wet blood on Teyyez's leg caught Zeere's attention, "Your leg," he nodded.

"It's not mine," Teyyez said quietly and shook his head, waving his team leader down, then held up a Republican Guard data tablet, one that could only have been acquired from the enemy.

"Oh man how long have I been out?"

"Not much longer than me, I got you bandaged and the glass is out, no major damage."

"You bandaged and didn't give me pain killers? Asshole," Zeere sighed as he pulled out his own medkit and withdrew the syringe of painkiller and jabbed it right into the wound. The autoinjector gave him a shot of the potent chemical and Zeere sighed as he felt the pain go away.

"Well I guess you won't want to know that we're way behind enemy lines. In fact I just knifed an officer and took his tablet," he said as he proudly waved the device.

"How far?"

"Pretty far, about three klicks. There's an enemy field headquarters across the street, looks like a regimental HQ to me judging by the fact there's some unarmored officers walking around and they're setting up a field kitchen," Teyyez sighed as he sat down across from him and picked up a bag of jerkey liberated from the debris.

"Bastards, here we are making due with jerkey," Zeere chuckled.

"Wanna show them our displeasure?"

"Fek yeah. But first, the rest of the squad?"

"They're alive, I managed a quick connection with actual, he said stay alive and don't do anything stupid."

"Well, we're about to disobey that last part. But," Zeere said, taking the missile launcher and holding it up to his assistant gunner, "I think you'll have to take the shot."

"Yeah I was about to say," Teyyez nodded as he took the launcher and pulled off his pack, "Better switch these as well."

"Yeah."

The two got their packs switched and then stood up and Zeere stretched as he got to his feet on the unstable rubble. They didn't have much in the way of headroom, the floor had collapsed and was at an angle, the two had to pick their way through, mostly hugging walls that had stayed upright and had the ceiling and floor above making a tent over their heads. It was nearly pitch black outside, but the lights of the city itself were sending dusty beams of blue into their little rat maze. The two reached a body, a Republican Guard Marine officer, a female lieutenant whose white and red armor was glistening with a trail of blood from her neck where Teyyez had dispatched her.

The body was leaning on the wall well out of sight. Her short pixie cut brunette hair was messy and her eyes were closed, it looked as though she were just asleep. But the gash in her neck and the deathly pale on her face was evidence enough of that. Both of them looked at the girl who seemed to be just a kid, more than likely younger than both of them. It was different looking at their enemy when there was an actual face.

"The bucket officer?"

"Yeah. She was looking for something besides rations I guess. Tried capturing her but…she gave me no choice," Teyyez said as the two just looked at the body.

"It happens," Zeere whispered back and stepped over their dead opponent's legs.

"Well, anyway, the rest of the building is still standing, we won't have all that much concealment once we're out of here," Teyyez whispered as they got to where the light was much more prevalent.

"Got it, NVG's on, they might send someone to come looking for her."

The two got their goggles on and then stepped out, leveling their A280's down both sides of the hall that they were in. The two were alone except for a handful of destroyed droids and a pair of CPF soldiers' bodies.

"Friendlies down over here," Teyyez pointed out behind them.

"Check 'em for grenades," Zeere whispered, backing with him, aiming at the corner in the hall so no one caught them unaware.

Teyyez walked over and leaned down, checking the two bodies, and recognized them.

"Shit, I recognize them, it's two-two's squad leader and medic," Teyyez growled angrily, and yanked their tags in turn, "No grenades, no weapons, the buckets already picked 'em dry."

"Lieutenant!" a man's voice called out down the hall where Zeere was looking and he looked as a flashlight beam illuminated the side of the hall.

"Cover!" Zeere whispered and the two rushed into the far side of the hall where a clothes store was in front of them and they took cover in the aisles completely out of sight.

"Lieutenant?!" a second man's voice called out as they saw, from the flashlights' beams, that they were now no longer alone in this side hall, "Where are ya?"

"Her beacon says she's right here," the other enemy combatant noted as they drew closer.

"They're gonna find the body!" Teyyez realized.

"Oh shit," Zeere noted as he looked over the aisle's clothes racks, "We gotta take care of them."

"Well, we've got our bayonets," Teyyez suggested.

"Go ahead," Zeere said and withdrew his blade and attached it to his blaster as they saw the two Republican Guard Marines in their white and red armor in front of them, "We'll jump 'em when they turn their backs. Ready?"

"Set."

"Oh no," the first Marine said, looking into the hole in the rubble wall they'd come from, "She's in there."

"Think she just fell? Knocked out maybe?" the second said as they both started looking in.

"Or dead."

Zeere nodded to Teyyez and they both started stalking out into the hall, barely ten yards separating them from their opponents. The two had their shining durasteel vibroblades leveled, prepared to use them. At any moment their identically-armed opponents, could swing around and blow them away. The first of them looked inside the hole and stepped in while his battle buddy shined a flashlight from his rifle into the opening. They were completely silent, but to their own ears it sounded as though their own breathing and heartbeats were echoing in the stone, metal, and glass interior. As soon as the first Marine was fully within the rubble-created tunnel Teyyez and Zeere made their move.

Both of them rushed forward. Teyyez, with a solid thrust shoved his bayonet into the back of the neck of the Marine and shoved him forward, completely limp and dead. Zeere dove with his blade into the back of the other Marine, shoving the blade completely into the man's upper back and shoving them both forward onto the sloping ground. A scream from the young Marine sounded out and the man tried to reach around desperately to pull the blade out from his back. But Zeere was on him. He got to his knees straddling over the enemy and yanked the blade out and plunged it back into his back with a sickening crack as the bayonet sank all the way to the hilt, smacking armor on durasteel. This was met another screech of pain. Zeere did it again, and again, and the man stopped screaming. He hesitated as he saw him weakly just trying to reach in a vain and ineffective effort to get away. Knowing that it had to be done Zeere made one last plunge into the back of his opponent's head extinguished all life that was left.

Withdrawing the bayonet the young Separatist soldier fell back onto his side, looking at the bleeding body his legs were still on top of. It was different seeing as the color was in shades of green, but he knew. Yet, he couldn't quite grasp it, his head was engulfed in the thumping of his heart and the cacophony of his own breathing. Looking down at his weapon he saw blood dripping from his bayonet, and with shaking hands he pulled it off and, in a daze, wiped the blood off on his pant leg, now knowing how Teyyez had gotten blood on his own uniform.

Teyyez pulled the body of the other man into the hole as Zeere sat there in his daze.

"You okay Corporal?" Teyyez asked.

"It's different, doing it with a blade."

"Damn right. But hey, they'd have killed us, no hesitation."

"I know. And we're still not done," Zeere sighed and grabbed his weapon, "Now we have to kill a whole lot more."

 **Yeah I think this one's done. I've really been debating about having a scene like this but decided to include it. War's most devastating moment for most is the close kind, the kind where you kill with blades and bare hands if need-be. Seeing as I've never shied away from it in the past in other stories I figured it best not to stop now.**

 **In terms of writing again I'm returning to some sort of groove, I've got my muse back, so hopefully I can get out quality chapters once more. Stand by for more, first I'll be getting "Building the New Rebellion" updated then my Haifuri fun fic then returning to this one, or not, depends on my muse at that given moment, as per usual.**

 **Next Chapter Preview: The horror continues on Bandomeer, and Sato's shining moment arrives.**


End file.
